We all know stories matter. The more interesting and emotionally captivating your message is, the more it gets talked about. Nowhere is this more evident (and perhaps important) than in the world of PR.
Like everything else, PR channels have become very cluttered and noisy...it's really hard to get a writer's attention these days. So, why keep using the "traditional" approach of crafting press releases...if you know they are less and less effective. Take it from someone who knows more about this subject then me. Here's what Shel Israel says in a recent blog post, Lipstick on a Chicken....
" If you want to get me to write about you, and if I want to get the people who are most relevant to Roam4Free and Scrapblog to write about these clients, I don't pitch them. I don't send them email attachments. I don't call them up on the phone. I join their conversations. We get to know each other. Hopefully, in many cases, we will get to know and trust each other. When my audience is interested in what a PR practitioner is talking about it, I write about it and thus accelerate the conversation."
"If you are in the PR profession, I think you need to stop pitching and start becoming part of the conversation relevant to your market and your client."
Stories are passed along by people who connect and who share common goals. And, that's much easier as people get to know you...and they start trusting you. The challenge is to find new ways to make connections, start conversations and earn someone's trust. PR professionals are people too.