Six steps to building relationships with reporters via Twitter
As I blogged yesterday, some legal marketing and communication professionals question the value of Twitter in getting stories out to reporters. Some legal reporters and editors even question the value of Twitter for them.
Here’s six simple steps to using Twitter for getting your stories into reporters’ hands. The premise of it all is relationships – to build trust so that a reporter will take your call, respond to your email, and read your blog.
Use Twitter personally
As Euan Semple (@Euan) says, people tweet, organizations don’t.
Sure law firms have Twitter accounts. Some firms have them for different practices or industries. But if you are looking to build real trust, person to person, the Twitter account you use for relationship building with reporters must be your personal Twitter account.
Twitter lists
Set up a Twitter list with relevant reporters. Fine tune the list on a regular basis adding reporters and deleting those who prove not worthwhile to follow.
Twitter has a an article on “Using Twitter Lists” in their Help Center. It’ll tell you what lists are and how to set them up. For many people, lists can turn Twitter from a lot of noise into a clear signal.
Find reporters by doing searches. Look up a reporter’s name and add Twitter in Google. You’ll see their Twitter handles in stories. Do a search for reporters and industry and add Twitter, ie, Agriculture reporters using Twitter.
Pick from or subscribe to others lists. When you find a reporter, PR agency, editor, publisher or newspaper with a list of reporters, you’ve struck gold. Click on the reporters and add them to your list.
Muckrack, which once was free has a data base of reporters’ social media accounts, including their Twitter account. Try it free for 30 days and see what you think.
Give some love
Everyone likes a little love on the net. Reporters, legal marketing/communication pro’s, and lawyers. It’s all the same.
Re-tweet and favorite things from your “Reporters’ Twitter List.” Not everything. Things you believe your followers would like to know. Things you want to let the reporter know you liked. Use that favorite button as a like on Twitter.
When Re-tweeting add a brief comment so the reporter knows you’re alive and breathing. If you need to, shorten up or edit the reporter’s tweet so you can get in your brief comment. Instead of RT, just use a MT for “modified tweet.”
The reporter will be notified in Twitter of your retweet or favorite. They’ll start to notice you and may thank you on Twitter.
Get to know the reporters
Beyond business tweeting, you’ll see personal Tweets and they’ll see your personal Tweets. Engage on those personal items by replying, favoriting, and when appropriate, re-tweeting.
Life and relationships are driven by those things closer to the heart than work. Time out with our spouse. A ballgame with our kids. Coaching youth sports. Even a movie or a sporting event on TV. These things end up on Twitter and are perfect for getting to know each other.
Connect beyond Twitter
As you get to know reporters, take it off Twitter. Exchange emails, connect on LinkedIn (tagging them in LinkedIn as reporter), and get together with them for lunch or coffee.
Some reporters and journalists even use Facebook for news stories and personally.
Use Twitter and social media throughout
You can’t build relationships on Twitter or other social media without using it well yourself. You can’t just retweet and favorite, and go home. It’ll be obvious you just want attention and are not looking to give value and build relationships.
You also need to demonstrate you can provide value too. What are you sharing on Twitter from others and your firm that the reporters are interested in? You have to bring it.
Twitter is a wonderful medium for building relationships with reporters. You just need to work at it and have a little fun.
Image courtesy of Flickr by Josh Semans