You never know who you’re going to meet at Prowly #PRChat, where PR pros from every field and industry drop by to share their thoughts on the topics of the day! Stay ahead of the curve by spending just a couple of minutes catching up with our guests!
Get ready to hear from Renée Warren, Founder of We Wild Women, thought leader in PR, author, podcaster, all-around communications authority and about a hundred other titles that we can’t list if we want to have room left over for her answers to our questions. Here’s what she had to share on a variety of subjects:
How important is PR when growing one’s business?
As the competition for eyeballs grows on social media, establishing a good, authentic, and credible presence on traditional platforms can have a longer-term and further-reaching impact than just social media alone.
How do you find the right contacts to pitch to?
It takes a lot of daily skimming, especially if you’re just starting out, to understand the landscape and determine the best person to contact. This includes following hashtags on Twitter, like #journorequest #haro, and #helpareporter, subscribing to services like HARO, and following writers and journalists on Twitter and Instagram. This is, quite possibly, the second most time-consuming part of the PR process after crafting the perfect pitch.
What’s the role of storytelling in PR?
It is everything when it comes to PR. People don’t connect to stats and facts. Those items are great to help back up an argument, but they aren’t memorable. As the great Maya Angelou once said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” And stories evoke emotion. That is the gold standard for PR; make people feel something. Then, when you can do that, they will remember.
What is a commonly held belief in public relations that you passionately disagree with?
Myth: All journalists are a**holes. I have exchanged some of the most touching and beautiful emails and phone calls with journalists at top publications. They are people, too, and deserve to be treated with the utmost respect.
What should every PR practitioner stop doing?
Sending long-winded, unsolicited emails. An excellent PR practitioner will find the right person to send a well-crafted and evoking email pitch to, without the fluff. Make them want to say yes.
What skills do you think PR pros need to be successful long-term?
They must be really good at creative writing. Some of the best PR practitioners I have seen are copywriters too.
What trends are you seeing in PR that you’re excited about?
How traditional PR, social media, and content marketing intersect. I call this the ‘PR Engine,’ where all three work together to help bring a brand to life.
Want to know more? Follow Renée on Twitter.
