A Collection of Our Best PR Tips
We like to share PR tips on Instagram and Pinterest and in our newsletter and decided to log them all in this blog post, which we’ll update from time to time. We’re excited to share useful PR tips that come with 10+ years working in public relations. We hate fluffy “tips” that waste your time. We crafted these to be helpful and motivating, particularly during this strange and difficult time.
Pay attention to Pantone’s Color of the Year
You've probably noticed that at the end of the year, every year Pantone announces the Color of the Year for the upcoming year, or in 2021's case the two colors. While we can't begin to explain the *why* behind these yearly selections, what we can tell you is that they're a big PR opportunity. A quick Google search will reveal many round-ups of products, gifts, décor items, and spaces that incorporate the yearly Pantone selection.
Keep the Pantone color announcement on your radar every year and be prepared to respond quickly to the announcement, who knows you may have product that is the same color as whatever Pantone decides, and you may have a quick PR win!
PR your PR
TL;DR- share your wins! All too often we see companies get great PR and then… crickets. Nothing. Nada. You worked hard for your press, spreading that win widely. Share your press in your blog, newsletter, the press page on your website or press section for individual projects, Instagram posts, Instagram Stories (don’t forget to make a pinned press reel), Facebook, Linkedin...
Learn from your peers, it’s free
We all want PR, it’s a bit of a given that it is good for business. We’ve all also had that moment where we see press on a peer company and think “I can imagine my product/project/brand in this article.” If this thought has crossed your mind you know exactly where to start your research. Look at the companies who you admire and aspire to, the ones that have a greater reach. Document what they’re doing. This will help you figure out what you’re missing, what gaps you may need to fill.
Follow peer companies on Instagram, read their newsletters, go to their press pages and read the press. Start to make metrics based on this research, like, types of photos and styling, story angles, and media outlets. Doing PR on your own can be overwhelming and it can be hard to know where to start, we’ll always say that the best place to start is research!
Invest in *great* media quality photography
Photography is one of the best investments you can make in your business. Sure, you may have some photos, but if the colors are weak, the backgrounds are distracting, or there just aren’t enough images, getting great media placements will be all but impossible!
Ask anyone I’ve ever worked with, they will tell you that when it comes to photography, I sound like a broken record. But that won’t stop me from saying it over and over again. Photography is truly the number one, most important investment you can make in your business outside of product development. Did you know that there are different types of photography you can and should be taking depending on what you’re trying to promote? Do you know the difference between silo against white/white sweeps/ecom photos, in-situ/environmental shots, and merchandised photos?
We have a Pinterest account that includes tons of individual boards dedicated to media-quality photography ranging from residential interiors, to lighting, to tech products, textiles, accessories, consumables, and more. If you’re feeling ambitious we also created three guides dedicated to photography for media outreach.
What you think is important might not be a story, but what you’re overlooking might be…
Did you ever hear the adage “Your first idea may not be your best idea?” The same can sometimes be true for PR. There are several good techniques to check your story angles before you start crafting a pitch around them.
1. *Take stock of what the media or editor is actually covering.* You may think your design influence is THE story. However, after reading several features you might learn that this publication would be more interested in understanding how including handwritten cards with a CTA for tagging on Instagram increased sales 35%, for example. Send the appropriate pitches to the right editors.
2. *Brainstorm with trusted friends and colleagues.* Sometimes all it takes is someone else looking at your work with a fresh perspective to see it from a new angle. If you want to take it to the next level, form a support group with 3-5 like colleagues and do a one hour call every other week to talk through story angles for whatever you’re working on.
3. *Vet your stories.* If you have friends who work in media or trusted colleagues, ask them for feedback on your ideas. You might learn that there is less interest in what you think is a good idea and that it is time to rethink your plan. This might feel defeating, but from **another angle** you’ll see that you’re starting to develop an intuition for effective v ineffective pitches. The more you solicit feedback, the better your intuition will become.
If you are finding this post helpful, we think you’ll get a lot out of our 5-Day Pitch the Media Mini Course
Pitch local & regional publications.
There are SO MANY great reasons to pitch local and regional publications, securing a spot in smaller publications can be easier! But, that’s not the only reason you should pitch them. Smaller publications often include locally-made products and they have a dedicated readership who like to shop local and support brands from the region. If you're a retailer or if your product is available at a local brick-and-mortar shop this is a way to support those relationships!
Here’s a few examples of local and regional print publications: Time Out, Southern Living, New York Cottages & Gardens, Colorado Homes, California Style and Culture, and Canadian Living. Once you start looking, you’ll realize there really are SO many regional publications. If you live in a town or small city, where your home newspaper isn’t the New York Times one of the hardest publications to secure a placement in, look for opportunities to pitch to your town’s newspaper! Last but not least a few local blogs: Brokelyn webmag, California Weekend, Cool Cleveland, and LA Weekly.
Securing a placement is never a shoe-in, so even with smaller publications be sure to do some research to determine if your product or project is a good fit!
Don’t be afraid to follow up!
Sent a pitch...and crickets??? Nervous that if you follow up it will come off as annoying? Don’t worry, following up is a big part of the pitching process. At our sister PR firm Wolf PR we get a huge portion of responses after a follow up email. Editors are overworked and receive tons of emails each day, so things do slip through the cracks. Be friendly and courteous, short and sweet.
We suggest waiting a few days between emails and we never follow up more than twice. On the second email we typically use a phrase like “one last time” in the email to let the editor know that we respect their time and won’t be bombarding them with additional emails.
When we’re pitching a project or launch to several publications we like to log all the correspondence in a spreadsheet. It helps quickly visualize where you’re at in the pitching process with all the publications.
Applying for awards should be part of your PR strategy.
Isn’t it nearly impossible to get an industry award, though? Not necessarily. Yes, there are some very competitive top tier awards, but a lot of industry trade magazines also have awards. Don’t know where to start, look to your competitors to see what kinds of awards they are snagging and look into how to apply for them!
Through the application process you’ll have to succinctly and clearly write about your product, its inspiration, and how it was produced. Also, you’ll have to take high quality photos, which you’ll need for general press outreach anyway.
A lot of awards come up around the same time as the industry’s trade shows.
As always, PR your PR. If you do get an award be sure to share it on the press page of your site, in your newsletter, and across your social media platforms.
Know the editor. Personalize your email.
There’s a real person on the other end of your pitch email. From onslaughts of marketing emails to constant messaging across social media platforms, we live in a moment where impersonal communication is so common we almost don’t notice it. It’s easy to forget that when you send an email to an editor that there’s a person with a whole body of work and editorial point of view on the other end. The more you know about this person’s work the better chances you have to get a response from your pitch. You’ll know the editor better so you’ll be able to speak directly to their work with confidence that your work is a good fit.
Read the work of the journalist that you want to pitch and familiarize yourself with the types of stories they write. When you begin crafting your first email, reference an article or two that the editor has written that’s most directly related to the project you are pitching. This shows you also care about what they do and that you’ve done your homework and will be easier to work with.
Finally, always always address editors by name when you send them a pitch. It’s totally normal to pitch the same project to several publications at the same time, but each email should be individually crafted for the person you’re trying to make a connection with. Five personally crafted emails will always have a greater chance of success than twenty blanket pitches.
Understand press outcomes
We get questions about how to measure press outcomes all the time! On Instagram, we recently highlighted our 1-on-1 client Alice who was featured in Clever Magazine and about a month later a photo from that project was shared on Bobby Berk’s Instagram (interior designer from Queer Eye), which has over three million followers. We would assume that he probably came across her work by way of the Clever article. So one specific outcome from this piece of press is a wide reaching share and the brand validation and new followers that come along with that.
At the end of the day press for small businesses, like interior designers, is all about growing brand recognition and finding outlets to tell your unique story so people come to you for what you do best. Sure you can look at how much ad values are, measure impressions, or followers gained. But we think the best measure of success is when you land an amazing story.
Know exactly how your work is different.
To effectively communicate with the media, you have to very clearly understand how your work is different from your peers. For example, once I was invited to give a guest critique for design students. One student was building a hydroponic garden system. During his presentation he showed several different “competitors’” hydroponic systems. They were all minimal and white, with Scandinavian styling. The work he then presented? It was also minimal, white, Scandi-style. As a consumer his design gave me no good reason to purchase his over any other hydro-garden already on the market. And as an editor for a design publication, I would have no reason to feature it.
Now, if he had made a hydroponic garden that took its inspiration from, say, Piet Mondrian and used differently sized rectangles in red, blue, and yellow, with black fasteners…. well now you have a story! What a great visual. CAN YOU IMAGINE THE PHOTOS? And! from a business perspective you’ll have an invested customer base who is looking for an alternative to an already saturated aesthetic. If you don’t understand the existing competitor landscape, odds are your business will fall flat. The same goes for the stories you want to tell to the media. When you know what exactly differentiates your work from your peers you’ll be able to create unique story angles for your media pitches.
There’s a lot you can do if you don’t have photography
We’re not gonna lie, photography has always been massively important to securing press. We work in a photography-heavy industry, but don’t forget that when showcasing your work photos aren’t your only asset. This is a great time to organize and strategize around the storytelling you want to do for your projects. Get quotes from clients, collaborators, and suppliers. Develop your story angles. Organize your process photos, prototyping documentation, and sketches. Focus on the other assets you can corral. Imagine how easy it will be to pitch if the only thing you’re missing is photos. Create the super organized and easy to navigate dropbox folder of your dreams.
Create a mood board and clip examples of other photos you like for your photographer to reference for when we’re able to have photoshoots again.
Focusmate is our favorite productivity hack
We love Focusmate, the virtual coworking focus app. You sign up for a “focusmate session” in the browser based app and you’re paired with someone from around the world who is also trying to get through work, rehearsal, thesis writing, or even just read a book. You check in at the beginning of the hour to talk about what you’re each working on and again at the end to see what you’ve both accomplished. In fact, I’m editing this post’s caption during a session. I think at first it sounds a little strange to have a complete stranger watching you do work, but there’s something about human to human accountability that seems to work for me. This is in no way a paid ad at all. I just love it so much I feel like the whole world should be using this app.
STORY TIME: Usually I meet a lot of grad students researching super brainy things like special proteins. But last week I was paired with AN ACCORDIAN PLAYER who was rehearsing. We both went on mute so I didn’t hear her playing while I worked, I only saw her practicing. At the end of our session I asked if she would play a song for me, because when you’re paired with an accordion player I feel like the universe is giving you a present. Reader, let me tell you that SHE DID. I live in NYC and in pre-covid days I was regularly exposed to live musicians playing music in public. But now, in the age of no delightful subway buskers, I’ve realized I really miss it! So it was quite amazing to get a private accordion show! My focusmate partner also said it was nice to have an audience. So not only is focusmate helping me stay on task, but they are giving me the gift of spontaneity in the safety of my own home.
