4 tips to engage journalists on social media

I admit it: I recently listened to a Bulldog Reporter webinar on engaging journalists on social media hoping that I’d find that one secret to unlock all doors: “If you do X on social media, 25 percent more journalists will say ‘yes’ to your story pitches.” Sigh. That didn’t turn out to be one of the slides. In dieting and in media pitching, there’s no magic pill.

However, the webinar did confirm a lot of our own practices at THP as far as dos and don’ts of engaging journalists on social media. In my case, Twitter is the platform I primarily use to track what journalists are writing and what they are interested in, both professionally and in their personal lives. I like to call it “Twitter spying,” and frankly, you’re missing out if you aren’t using that public information to help yourself stand out and further relationships in this online world.

Below are my takeaways from the Bulldog webinar led by Sandra Fathi, president of a NYC-based firm that focuses on tech media:

• Tag journalists: Read a story you like or one that speaks to the industry that your client is in? Share it on Twitter or LinkedIn or whatever network you’re using to interact with journalists. As we’ve said before, journalists are people, too, and if you tag them by name, they will see that you are spreading their work around and engaging. (Note: More journalists are being judged on how widely their articles are being shared electronically as this New York Times piece explains the shifts going on at USA Today. We need to help out the folks who are such a key part of our livelihood, whether or not our client is in a story.)
• Don’t tag journalists: Wait. Didn’t you just say to tag journalists? The flip side of this coin – as Sandra pointed out throughout her presentation– is that you need to approach social media interactions with sincerity. Nobody wants to be tagged for something that’s off topic for them, or it will be viewed as blatant spam. Most often, the goal is to use social media to begin a relationship with someone, and then you’ll end up taking that interaction to email once that initial contact has been made and you need to share more information. Just in the last few days, I was able to switch from Twitter to email exchanges with new contacts for me at The Virginian-Pilot and The Washington Post.
• Keep platforms separate as far as business and personal: Here and there, some journalists do use Facebook to promote their work or request sources. In that case, if they invite you to be their FB friend, go ahead. As Sandra has experienced, you might see that they’re at a trade show you’re attending, too. Or you might be able to comment to be a potential source. In my experience, however, FB tends to be more personal. Most of my own FB status updates are of the non-professional variety – endless photos of kids and the parenting dilemma of the day. And purposely, I avoid sharing that kind of thing on Twitter so that I’m not annoying business associates and journalists.
• Remember, it’s public: Duh, you say. However, Sandra told stories of well-meaning PR people outing a journalist’s upcoming story in a way that would tip their competitor outlet as well. And, you don’t want to be revealing client information that’s under embargo via a tweet either. Apparently that’s been done by PR folks themselves. Oops, indeed.

Here are a few examples of things I've learned about journalists from my Twitter feed:

A beat change in Charlotte means I need to find another reporter for our client

Today is my first day on the schools beat. Follow me to keep up with news on CMS and all other types of Charlotte schools. #CLT

— Andrew Dunn (@andrew_dunn) July 29, 2014

Gummy bears make for happy HLNTV producers; plus a new producer for me to follow

Look what my new BFF @TVEboni brought me!!! Now she can take as many as she wants! #obsessedwithgummibears pic.twitter.com/BIzQLiBxBf

— Anna Rhett Miller (@AnnaRhettHLN) July 31, 2014

Who does Kathleen Hays from Bloomberg Radio have as her guest today?

What will the US Labor Secretary have to say on jobs? Up NOW Tom Perez @LaborSec on labor market cup: half full or half empty?

— Kathleen Hays (@Kathleen_Hays) August 1, 2014

The personal finance reporter at CNNMoney was away for the good part of July on her honeymoon, but now she’s back and writing again, breaking down how we’re paying for college

Probably going to be a bit quiet for the next few weeks Twitterverse. Taking a Twitter break for my marriage and honeymoon!

— Melanie Hicken (@melhicken) July 17, 2014

What are the “rules” of your most current social media interactions with journalists? What’s your best tip to begin and maintain solid media relationships in this online world? Please share. Heck, put it in 140 characters to @hodgestweets. We’ll be following and sharing. 

(Photo by Roger H. Goun on Flickr.)