The “ease factor”

Over the past month or so (even longer than that) it has been occuring to me that the only way PR folks will continue to be successful is to make things as easy as possible for the media from whom they want coverage.

Gone are the days where you can expect or anticipate “the usual” number of media to come to events, cover stories, respond in a timely manner.  It is not their fault, they just don’t have the time or the manpower available.

Moving forward we need to go more than out of our way to make it as easy as possible for the media to cover our clients’ stories.  In many cases I believe it is this “ease factor” that will make the difference between seeing your story on the air, in print, online and….well….not.

Tools like video and online conferencing, old-fashioned conference calls, and home-made satellite or streaming video tours will become critical.  Generating photos and even video that can be emailed and downloaded are increasingly becoming the norm.

Social media release (here’s one we did for the Virginia Education Wizard) tools like Pitch Engine with its ease of use and its easy share-ability make it so easy to pitch, share content and links, it is really a crime if you don’t already use them.

What other examples can you think of to make it easy for journalists, bloggers, producers, etc.? 

Producing your own content and its share-ability may be the difference between success and failure of your next pitch.