Comments on: Twitter pitches only?

By: HARO: A big-time community-building success story « Online Community Strategist

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:08:46 +0000

[...] Twitter Pitches Only [...]

By: Angela Connor

Angela Connor — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:53:19 +0000

Great advice Spud and thanks for taking the time to post a comment. When I was a TV assignment manager, I felt the same way. All of the unnecessary crap at the beginning got so annoying and I resented the fact that I had to get to paragraph three sometimes just to find the actual point. The recylcing bin became my best friend. Again, great advice. Start with a tweet. Love it.
-Angela

By: Spud Hilton

Spud Hilton — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:12:35 +0000

As someone who receives 200+ press releases a day I can tell you this: Yes, a press release should give all the details, but if you don’t grab me with the first 140 characters (give or take), the rest of the release is meaningingless. So I guess the practical middleground is to write a tweet at the top and then all the details. Don’t be affraid to leave the client’s name until the second graph, because if you waste your characters telling me anything other than THE POINT, you’re sunk. Example: “Chairman and founder Johan Schnockflugenwerst of vacuum-flush sanitation reverse engineering company Flushinflugen, a leader in the industry, announced today …” There’s not a single character I need in that example and, sadly, this is what I get day after day.

By: This is your Brain on Twitter: An ebook review « Online Community Strategist

Tue, 19 May 2009 00:33:08 +0000

[...] Twitter pitches only? [...]

By: Interesting blogs posts from the first week of January, 209 | Digital Likeness

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 06:34:17 +0000

[...] Community Strategist blog by Angela Connor. Her posts Your Tombstone in 140 Characters or Less and Are we taking the 140 character limit to the extreme have caused me to really think about the impact of microblogging on how we communicate. Rather than [...]

By: Your tombstone in 140 characters or less « Online Community Strategist

Your tombstone in 140 characters or less « Online Community Strategist — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 19:45:06 +0000

[...] 140 characters, tombstone, twitter Yes, this is a crazy idea. But after the amazing response on this post about whether or not we’re taking the 140 character limit to the extreme and such varied points [...]

By: Wardell

Wardell — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:33:11 +0000

Short and concise is always best, but while 140 characters may be great for Twitter it simply not effective for everything. 140 characters is simply a blurb of info or an attention grabber, one would be hard pressed to sell or convince me of anything with just 140 characters.

By: Gerard McLean

Gerard McLean — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:26:58 +0000

Maybe the words need to change slightly to say:

“If you can’t pique interest in 140 characters, it needs to change.”

Your company, product, message, etc. should be worked like a carnival (trade show) booth. “Want to see a two-headed naked woman? Step right up.” or “Physical therapy for horses, want to hear more?” (The second was a real pitch in 47 characters for an electronic device that provided FES to a equine back and legs….. oh, have I already lost you?)

Pitch in 140. Sell only when you have attention. If you can’t pitch in 140, your idea is way to complicated. And, for God’s sake, make each link click to a photo of something. That counts for at least 140 characters without actually using any.

By: Andrea Hill

Andrea Hill — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:09:38 +0000

There used to be the 30 second elevator pitch, now it’s down to 140 characters. I think it’s a logical progression, and in line with what we’re all starting to expect from each other, so why should PR be any different?

Books have always caught our interest primarily with their title, and secondarily with their cover. If you need 200 words to explain “the point”, then that point isn’t very sharp.

The word moves fast, there is simply too much information out there. We need a way to filter, and requiring people to refine their message and really be succinct is one way to do it.

By: Murray Izenwasser

Murray Izenwasser — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:48:44 +0000

Both sides are actually right. And both sides are actually wrong. In today’s fully multi-channel world it’s all about reaching your audience in the way they expect to reached. From the specific PR perspective, for some it would be from a standard, faxed press release; for others, from one submitted via email; or from an online service; and now, it seems, via a 140 word or less tweet on Twitter.

If you choose to only create PR in one of these methods, then that is your choice. You will be limiting yourself to a sub-section of the market, however.

It goes back to goals: are you trying to get something placed in one specific publication, whether online or traditional – then you need to figure out how that decision maker wants to be pitched, and pitch that way.

However, if you are attempting to hit a broad audience and potentially drive traffic to an online destination, build some buzz, maybe some sort of viral effect, and take advantage of SEO, then you really need to hit on all channels, and create pitches/releases that take advantage of each in the best way for each.