Social media is not a joke, and anyone who thinks it is should not be pitching SM executives. Recently, a bad PR person personally emailed me a release that was written in a way that made me believe that she thinks her client is on many levels just a dilettante. The lady who sent it has seen that BPB is on the Power 150 and felt that I would want to interview her client, the so-called expert.
However, all this got them was coverage they probably don’t desire because, yep you guessed it, we spend time writing about yucky pitches. Why – why! – don’t people see that in the networked world we spend our entire lives in, once you push Send and mass mail crappy words to people they will end up on a well-read blog and shared by their colleagues, enemies, frenemies, bosses and.....
Oh yeah. Did I mention their clients?
As participants here know, I tend to "out" people using their names and their companies. In this case I’m going to leave the guilty parties to figure out who and what they are on their own. Cause I feel kind of badly for everyone involved. This pitch is just stupid. I put in X, Y and Z—and Product in place of the names to protect them. (And I mean that word GUILTY because someone had to approve the following pitch.) Here now the facts.
The thing that struck me first was the headline, “Social Media Expert,” which is like advertising someone is good in bed. When you use words in this manner it’s rarely true – and if it were, you should be able to tell us w/o you shoving it so far down our throats. Oops.
Before I show you the missive, here are facts I picked out (plus that it was sent to Bad Pitch Blog shows you that the public relations “pro” is pretty clueless, but let’s leave that aside):
What’s wrong begins with the offer of an exclusive that was basically mailed out to dozens, if not hundreds,. Then there's the fact it goes on forever. Guys, after three years of saying this, I will say it again: Write what you need to, then stop.
• The subject line implies a call to action that is not explained in the text
• What’s a “social media interview?” Is it about social media? Conducted via social media? Published on social media? Or maybe this PR person thinks they’re talking about a social tea!
• If the reporter doesn’t already know X, and understand the way Y works and for whom, this sure doesn’t explain it: The gobbledygook of “a tool designed to help advertisers and marketers make better strategic decisions focused on the bottom line.” A plain-language explanation should lead the pitch, a-la: “Product makes it possible—finally—for advertisers to measure and analyze their social media presence.”
• Referring to both the company and the product is bizarre and she should have chosen one. Particularly as this is the company’s only product right now. The pitch seems to be a product pitch — confusing it with the brand is just confusing.
• It says he is an expert, but what, I’m just supposed to take the sender's word for that? How about specifics? Even one. Example: "directed strategy for the fastest growing [WHAT KIND OF?] services company in history...”
• The “not all content is created equal” thing is kind of intriguing but it is both buried and the text describing it is all marketing/sales junk
• It reads like a blast e-mail — not any real thought has gone into it. Like it was written by someone who has no idea whatsoever what this is, and today that is dangerous for a company that I know is well-funded (I checked). There’s no reason at all why anyone should care after reading the below. It reads like it was done so the PR lady could say s/he had “done” it. That is, she reached her deadline and quota
Here comes the pitch--low and wide. Keep in mind that there are a lot of details left in so yes you can figure out who it is, but you can’t say I said who!
EXCLUSIVE SOCIAL MEDIA INTERVIEW: X AVAILABLE MAY 19 – 21
Good Morning,
I wanted to touch base with you regarding a possible social media interview with expert X. X is the founder of Y. Y’s listening platform, Product, is a tool designed to help advertisers and marketers make better strategic decisions focused on the bottom line. Product offers advertisers & marketers a new approach to understanding their brands, customers and competitors. X is an expert in customer intelligence and the challenges companies face in gathering actionable, real-time insights about their customers.
To offer you an idea of X’s expertise and topics, I invite you to read below and visit his website…
Thanks!
Not All Content Is Created Equal
Y’s (product) delivers actionable insights about content, consumer behavior and the demographics of social media so that Marketing and Advertising professionals can spend their money wisely. Product gives you the data you need to know you’re buying the right place to show your ad, the right demographic and the right time slot.
Product’s dashboard delivers insights about content, consumer behavior and the demographics of social media so you can take action. Product’s finds your most important audience and provides deep analytics on the people that matter most to your business.
• Brand monitoring, engagement & sentiment analysis for Marketing and PR
• Site content and behavioral analysis for Advertising and Media Planning
• Keyword and Discovery Insights for research of competitive brands, consumers and target markets
*Left the remainder out - it's just a list of topics and filled with dull words that will put you to sleep. And you need your energy to read the rest of this.*
Now, you should get why this is bad. If you don’t, then write me and I’ll come to your office and slap you!
Hope those who recognize themselves – both PR person and the victim himself – will realize how far off the mark this is. But I may be wishful. There’s something about people who approve buzzwords that makes me think they use them a lot too.
Enough for today. Go and write something good. I am Twittering http://twitter.com/laermer.
More Twitter: For some insightful thoughts on PR please follow me and Kevin: twitter.com/badpitch.
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