If you’re interested in reading more about online marketing and search engine optimization, I am now making guest posts over at Online Marketing Blog.

Online Marketing Blog was named Minnesota Blog of the Day in the City Pages on January 25, 2007.

Thank you to Lee Odden for inviting me to contribute!

When time is of the essence, there is a temptation to conduct haphazard media pitching. By haphazard, I mean grabbing a concept and sending it out to the media as soon as possible. While this approach may generate plenty of opportunities, it is not targeted and is conducted without strategy.

Targeted pitching means that you consistently gain coverage in your clients’ top publications that speak directly to their prospects. Haphazard pitching often creates opportunities in lesser know publications that may not reach out directly to the right audience.

Strategic planning before pitching is invaluable. Who do you want to reach with this pitch? Which publications do you want to pick it up? By pinpointing which publications you want to run your story, you are in a position to offer exclusives and direct all of your energy into a handful of “right on” publications rather than a long list of not so targeted media outlets.

It is also important to make the most of the content you have. If you run with pitches without thinking first, you may blow 3 stories in one pitch, which could have otherwise been separated out and leveraged more effectively.

You cannot underestimate the importance of having company-wide support for any public relations program. Without the buy-in from the team members that live and breathe your client’s industry, you are going to find it difficult to be successful.

Here’s why.
It is the team members that interact with customers that have the best idea of what their prospects want. They know the pains and issues that customers face and how they want your client to address these issues. This is your content right here. These are the people that you rely on to tell you what’s going on in the industry and to provide valuable nuggets that you can convert into compelling media pitches.

Why is it difficult to gain buy-in?
Oftentimes, it is all to do with company communication. If employees do not understand why the company is implementing a PR program and what the end objective is, they will find it very difficult to support and contribute to the program. It is therefore important to communicate to the entire team at the start why you’re pursuing a PR program and how it supports your corporate strategy. Outline the end objective and how success will be measured; describe the tactics that will be deployed in support of the strategy and how the ultimate objective will be achieved.