79% of journalists out of 29,000 polled turn to social networking for news leads and 62% obtain less than 10% of their content from PR firms today. One-in-three journalists contribute to blogs. 91% of journalists prefer to be contacted by email and 70% rely heavily on visual attachments. And because of the evolving social media, 49% see a growing divide between PR professionals and the media.

These are the main findings from a media survey conducted by Bennett & Company, a marketing firm in Florida. While the findings might be US-centric, take this as a heads-up for similar trends developing in India.

Here is a list of select media relations tips from PR professionals and journalists who participated in the recent online survey ‘Media Relations Best Practices‘ on this blog. Check them out:

1. Stick to the facts, understand what is news and what is not.
2. Journalists are rated on the basis of exclusive stories they generate everyday. If you can give a journalist several exclusives, you would be the star PR person.
3. When journalists doing negative stories want quotes from top client bosses, PR people should be able to help. If you can do this, you will have the journalist eating out of yours and your clients’ hands.
4. Get to know the editor very well, then some amount of any ‘not so important’ news or story can get into the print.
5. Develop credibility amongst the media persons.
6. Media relations should be based on a strategy and not a knee jerk reaction.
7. Expect the unexpected from the media but still try and understand them more.
8. For an event, try to identify the right journalist and provide clear details in their required language. The PR professional should stop calling continuously if they know the event will not be covered by the media.
9. Know your client’s business and the announcement that you are pitching, in detail, before contacting the media.
10. Never sell a story while journalists are approaching their deadlines. Chances are that they may not be interested in talking to you as they need to rush to file their stories.
11. Give the journalist your client list.
12. Take appointments before meeting journalists.
13. Just try to step into the shoes of the journalist before initiating anything.
14. Friendship and sharing good stories from time to time is the best combination.
15. Give space to journalists…feed them precise and newsworthy information. Be prepared with an option always.

This post is the concluding part of the results of the Media Relations Best Practices survey. While many of the results and tips might seem obvious to a seasoned PR pro, I have put them up nevertheless so that perhaps a newcomer in the industry might benefit from it. A big thanks from my side to all those who have participated. Sharing our knowledge among ourselves is one great way, I think, through which we can take forward the best practices of the profession.

What is the best way to issue a press release? What time of the day do we issue a press release and on which day of the week? How do PR professionals pitch for a story and what are the most-preferred options? Recently we conducted an online survey ‘Media Relations Best Practices‘ on this blog and it was responded to by around thirty PR professionals and journalists who are readers of this blog. Here are the results:

Q. Issuing a press release - which of the following is the most effective? Please rank according to your preference: (Phone call is taken as given for all)

Rank - Practice - Average score out of 6 (the lesser the score, the more preferred it is)

1. Email and hand delivered - 2.00
2. Hand delivered and fax / Fax and email - 3.23
3. Hand delivered - 3.36
4. Email - 3.42
5. Fax - 4.67

Q. Following up on a press release on the phone -which of the following is the most effective? Please rank according to your preference:

Rank - Practice - Average score out of 3 (the lesser the score, the more preferred it is)

1. Explaining the significance of the announcement in the release - 1.31
2. Providing additional info - 2.25
3. Offering an interview with the spokesperson - 2.33

Q. Pitching a story - Please rank the best methods that work:

Rank - Practice - Average score out of 5 (the lesser the score, the more preferred it is)

1. Email pitch note and talk on phone - 2
2. Call up the journalist directly - 2.21
3. Email pitch note and meet the journalist - 2.71
4. Meet the journalist directly with the pitch note - 3.12
5. Use yahoo/gmail/msn messenger - 4.50

Q. Best time in the day to issue a press release- Please rank the following:

Rank - Timing - Average score out of 5 (the lesser the score, the more preferred it is)

1. 2pm-3pm - 2.07
2. 12pm-1pm - 2.50
3. 3pm-4pm - 2.87
4. 11am-12pm - 3.29
5. 5pm-6pm - 3.93

Q. Best day of the week to issue a press release - Please rank the following:

Rank - Day - Average score out of 7 (the lesser the score, the more preferred it is)

1. Wednesday - 2.62
2. Tuesday - 2.69
3. Monday - 3.14
4. Thursday - 3.41
5. Friday - 4.36
6. Saturday - 5.21
7. Sunday - 6

Q. Press release most likely to get picked up by the media - Please rank the following:

Rank - Subject - Average score out of 10 (the lesser the score, the more preferred it is)

1. Partnerships/tie-ups - 2.50
2. New business / Investment - 3.33
3. Earnings/reports - 3.37
4. Product launch - 4.33
5. Trends - 4.81
6. Awards - 5.50
7. Office & branch openings - 7.00
8. CSR Initiatives - 7.53
9. Others - 9.42

Q. During media interaction of our clients, what behaviors of ours are most appreciated by the media and the client? Please rank the following:

Rank - Practice - Average score out of 5 (the lesser the score, the more preferred it is)

1. Occasionally give our inputs - 1.59
2. Siting quietly/ making notes - 2.59
3. Trying to explain better what the spokesperson says - 2.69
4. Cracking jokes to lighten up the tension in the air - 3.50
5. Others - 4.25

Q. What makes a press release/ press conference/ pitch note work the best? Please rank the following:

Rank - Factor - Average score out of 4 (the lesser the score, the more preferred it is)

1. How important the announcement is - 1.59
2. How famous the company is - 2.25
3. How famous the spokesperon is - 2.75
4. How influential the PR agency is - 3.50

…to be continued.

Disclaimer: This survey is for educational purpose only.

• Who would know how to work with the media better than PR people. So if we can collate our thoughts and get some value-additions on about our media-relations practice, it’d be nice. This is a simple survey and it will be interesting to know the PR industry’s feedback. Do give it two minutes.

Example question: Rank the following-
4- xxxxxxx
3-yyyyyyy
1-zzzzzzzzz
2-wwwww

Survey: Media relations best practices

Update: This survey is closed. Please see results.

Disclaimer: This survey is only for educational purposes .

Forbes.com reported on the latest results of the World’s most respected companies poll.

‘Reputation’ has become a watchword in the corporate world, and safeguarding a company’s image is now a top priority for many CEOs. That’s one reason why the Reputation Institute, a New York consulting firm, decided to rate the reputations of the biggest companies in the world.

These are the top 10-

Barilla Holding (Italy), LEGO Holding A/S (Denmark), Deutsche Lufthansa AG (Germany), IKEA International A/S (Sweden, Compagnie Generale des Etablissements Michelin (France), Toyota Motor Corp.(Japan), A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S (Denmark), Ferrero SpA (Italy), Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.(South Korea), and Kraft Foods Inc.(USA). India’s Tata Group ranked 20th.

These are the top 10 in India-

Tata Group, Maruti Suzuki, Hero Honda Motors, Hindustan Lever, ITC Limited, State Bank of India, Infosys Technologies, Mahindra & Mahindra, Indian Oil, and Grasim.
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