Avalanche PR logo

Listen up hospitality, bad PR’s coming to get you

Lacklustre PR warning from national travel writer Sally Shalam

Lacklustre PR warning from national travel writer Sally Shalam

A warning from a national travel writer via Twitter this morning, for independent UK hotels – or indeed any business that just has a go at, rather than invests in professional PR.

To be taken seriously by reviewers and journalists, the press pitch needs consideration.  Every journalist’s requirements will differ.  Get the approach right and the media attention will follow.  Playing at PR with lazy media contact and inexperience will close doors to future press coverage.

Three steps to getting it right:

1.  Do your homework.  Focus on a small number of target journalists or bloggers initially and research their writing style and requirements.  Blanket emails won’t cut it.

2.  Photography.  Are you armed with professional images, of suitable quality for the media you’re targeting?  For many journalists, these will be needed in the first instance to determine scope for a review or pursuing a potential write up.

3.  Publication lead times.  Most journalists are working quite far in advance – often up to six months.  Does the nature of your press pitch coincide with the times your target media is working to?

There are of course more considerations for getting the PR pitch right, but starting with the above will help to focus the approach.

If you need to bring in the professionals, send us a rescue flare.