Press relations: a little-known profession

When I tell people that I do “press relations”, I often have wide eyes in front of me or someone who thinks they understand that I am “advertising”.

Rest assured, it's normal not to know what it is, because it's a profession that's quite “hidden” from the general public. We know journalists and influencers better than we know press officers.

When I'm faced with someone who really has no idea about my job, here's how I explain it to them: based on their profile, I try to guess what type of media this person consults. If I suppose that she is going to read the newspaper Le Monde, for example, I can tell her:

In Le Monde, for example, you see the presentation of an author who talks about his book, the intervention of an expert on a given subject, or even a “consumer” subject which presents several brands. The journalist himself perhaps wanted to write an article on the subject, he looked at which brands he wanted to talk about, which expert he wanted to bring in, and contacted someone like me to have + information about the brand or the client I represent.

Or maybe it was someone like me who contacted him with an interesting story, and the journalist decided to pick it up.

So I'm kind of an intermediary. But you understand that I am not a journalist: it is not me who writes the articles. And it's not about advertising either: it's the journalist who is free to write his article. In an advertisement, the brand chooses precisely the message it wants to convey, and you can see that you, as a reader, do not read an article in the same way as you look at an advertisement.

Depending on the structure in which you work, press relations or “PR” can mean several things.

You can be a press officer in an agency, directly in a company, or independently/freelance.

Freelance press officer: the advantage of managing the entire relationship with your clients

As far as I am concerned, I am independent, and I therefore deal directly with my clients. I really like this way of working, because it is me who negotiates and exchanges directly from the start with my client to understand their request, their needs. I can directly know if I can answer it, if I'm the right person for it, and if it's the right time. So, we are clear from the start about what we expect, and we give ourselves every chance of having a fluid and transparent relationship.

How to do press relations?

Recently I co-facilitated a workshop on “press relations for small brands“for the wonderful Berlin organization”New Voices“. If you are independent or a company founder in Berlin, I highly recommend coming to one of the events: solidarity, sisterhood, professionalism and energy are there, every time! By the way, a big thank you to Raphaëlle Dedourge at the origin of this initiative.

It made me think a lot about my job and I loved sharing it directly with business creators who were looking for some tips to manage their own press relations.

My definition: present a concept to a journalist with the best possible angle so that this journalist enjoys talking about it to his readers.

You can replace “concept” with “customer”, “brand”, “product” or “personality”.

And if I'm talking about journalists, the definition is the same in my opinion for influencers.

The tools

• Beautiful photos.

This is essential ! Everyone will ask you for it. And if you're caught off guard, you risk missing opportunities. Don't communicate until you have beautiful visuals. Furthermore, you will realize that not everyone sets out to be a photographer. If you can, call on a photography professional! Highlight a product, a universe, a personality. You also need simple photos on a white background. If you represent a client who does not have a product that “can be photographed”, but who, for example, has software, I advise you to at least have photos of the CEO, and also a demo of the software. It's simple : words are not enough. You must have at your disposal images that a journalist will be able to use to illustrate your point, or simply so that he understands your concept himself.

• The press release for journalists.

It provides essential information and is written as if it were already a press article. It must be well written, without mistakes and with nice turns of phrase, give clear information, and above all not resemble an advertisement. There are so many articles on the subject! I direct you to that of The echoes.

• Email or private message on a social network for influencers.

I do not recommend sending a press release or “CP” to influencers. Remember that originally, and still today, influencers have their Instagram page, their blog or their YouTube channel alongside the job that makes them live. Sometimes this job is close to communication, sometimes not – and in this case a CP as a gateway will seem terribly cold and informal. I therefore advise a clear, pleasant, short message, with a photo of the product/brand you represent. Here I'm just going to present to you the video of the designer (and influencer) Cy who explains with humor and despair what you absolutely should not do.

• The press event, press lunch, or press trip: the meeting.

It's up to you to be creative with your client to organize pleasant and meaningful meeting times! I know, for example, that I loved organizing with dream partners this press trip to Vichy for the World Well-Being Weekend and that the journalists present took great pleasure in it. This is the kind of trip that is best co-organized with local actors as was the case here with the adorable Stéphane Huin from Bathrobe Addicts.

Easier to organize and less expensive, I always like to meet influencers and journalists around a sweet Bénéfique infusion for a Parisian breakfast.

Invitation for a press breakfast with the Organic & Sauvage infusion brand Le Bénéfique[/caption]

Each brand can create opportunities that make sense for it, provided that press relations are a priority: organizing events is very time-consuming!

Soft skills

• Identifying good journalists: the human relationship with others.

You will notice that I do not note it in “tools”. And besides, in “tools” I didn’t talk about these famous “mailing lists” either. Often I hear “I don’t understand, I was given a list of journalists’ emails and I sent an email but got no response“. Since the approach is not the right one, your email has probably gone in the trash. If you're just starting out, keep it simple: go to the newsstand, wander around the internet, listen to or watch your favorite shows...and note the articles and media where it seems to you as a listener or reader that your brand could have been talked about in a fluent way. Contact the journalists or influencers behind this media, and do so sincerely, explain how the theme of this media is similar to what you are offering and why you think the information you have to provide is relevant. Start small, for example with 10 journalists or media outlets. And gradually, build your personal base, your personal network.

• The art of the telephone, of texting, of whatsapp, of tweeting.

It is better to be comfortable with all of these elements to have a good relationship with a journalist. If you're the type who gets stressed when you see someone calling you, it's best to leave that role to someone else! For the journalist or influencer, you are a resource for their work. If you don't answer, don't call back when someone calls you, ignore texts, etc. you will quickly be forgotten and will rarely have a second chance. The soft skill to have here is the ability to convey information quickly and simply via a medium (a phone call, a WhatsApp message) while making the pleasant, friendly relationship.

• Organization and originality.

If you have one but not the other you will have difficulty achieving your goals. Organization is crucial and allows you to navigate through all your contacts. It is essential to never forget to respond to someone, to always write your press releases on time, and to follow up with your customers when they are late on something they must provide you. You are the one who holds all of this and if you have superb ideas that you do not implement over time, your creativity will be wasted by a lack of follow-up. In all these pro-active steps that you take, you must always keep an open, fresh, original mind! To write a press release that has a chance of being used, you need to find an interesting angle that you have the instinct that this or that person will like it that you are trying to achieve. This is also true in the strategies that you offer to your clients, in the events that you organize with them.

Why do press relations?

In my opinion the question is above all, “why do press relations compared to… advertising, marketing, concentrate on another aspect of your business?”. 

Making yourself known: some options

The answer is really on a case by case basis. In general, we do press relations to “make ourselves known”, but there are plenty of ways to make yourself known. Among :

• Manage your social networks or call on a community manager
• Write items “SEO friendly” on your own blog or call on an editor
• Place advertising paid or use an advertising agency
• Propose a system of sponsorship to your customers or call on a Customer Relationship Management or “CRM” professional
• Go to living rooms general public or B2B, or doing markets, or networking events
• And of course, make press relations !

Press relations will be relevant if you really have an original product, new information to offer. A journalist, an influencer or a person like me can do a “diagnosis” and tell you if your concept has a chance as is, or if it needs to be reworked a little.

Are you ready to get started?

To ensure that efforts bear fruit, I always ask my clients these questions, in one way or another:

• The whole team Is she up for it? What are expectations and reluctance ?
• Have you ever done campaigns before, how did it go, what did you learn ?
• Is your product ready? Are you ready for your product to be seen?, let's test it?
• Is your site ready? Is it up to date ? How can someone buy you/find you/show you/interview you?
• What other projects are underway at the moment? Is communication an integral part of what you need to succeed – compared to, for example, the recruitment of new talents, the launch of a new product?

If by answering these questions you feel ready, it's time to get started! If you still have doubts, it's never too early to think the steps to be taken before you really get started.