Communications professionals rely on journalists to help tell our client’s stories, understand their industries, and ‘get’ the message. Often, these stories include content that is detailed and complex, especially when we are dealing with emerging clean tech technologies and decarbonization solutions that are rooted in engineering, chemistry, physics, tax law, governmental systems, and other specialty subjects. But these relationships work both ways – journalists rely on communications professionals to help them identify compelling stories and expert sources to deliver timely and accurate news.
A recent Muck Rack study of 1,000 journalists found that public relations is key for journalists, with 70% viewing PR pros as important or very important to their jobs. Journalists want ideas and information that allow an informed story to be written efficiently. Personalized pitching remains vital to grab their attention. The secret is to stand out from the crowd and get your message in early – there’s no time to waste when you’re trying to fit your story within rapidly changing news cycles and reporters are working against daily deadlines.
While traditional pitching remains key to helping communications professionals establish trust and build connections, today, those relationships are augmented by social media connections. More than half of journalists view social media as either important or very important for producing their stories, and many of those stories are coming from public relations professionals.
According to most journalists, X remains the dominant platform, with 36% seeing it as their primary source for finding and sharing information on social media. However, these numbers are declining as journalists transition to other platforms in protest of policies adopted by X’s new owner, Elon Musk. Facebook and Snapchat are also declining due to highly publicized incidents related to privacy issues, accountability lapses, the spreading of fake news, and the growing advertising presence. After all, a journalist cannot risk credibility by pursuing a story that may not be accurate.
LinkedIn is poised to overtake X, with 44% of surveyed journalists expected to use the platform more in the next year. Instagram and YouTube are projected to grow too, with journalists saying they’ll spend more time on these platforms than less. Based on developing trends, focusing content on LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube should be a priority for public relations professionals.
Mercom’s public relationships professionals combine their clean tech industry expertise with their deep understanding of how the media works to identify compelling story angles and craft pitches that attract journalists’ attention and generate results.
Learn more about Mercom’s media outreach results. Contact us for a consultation about your specific media relations or other communications needs.
