You Can’t Overemphasize Urgency
We’ve written before about the prime importance of a sense of urgency in public relations and marketing, but honestly, it’s something that is impossible to overemphasize.
A few recent client-related situations (not all of them within the control of the clients) brought the subject to mind once again. They all involve important publicity opportunities that were almost missed because of some foot-dragging on someone’s part.
Maybe it’s our OCD, but when a press opportunity arises, we treat it like a 100-meter dash. The starting gun goes off, and you get to the tape as quick as you can. Sometimes, however, the people you’re working with look at it more like an amateur marathon – run at a leisurely pace, and you’ll get to the finish line eventually.
The challenge is to instill that sense of urgency in them, even if only temporarily. Some people can be sped up, but others seem to have only one speed, and it’s too slow.
We are fortunate in this era of all-online news (or nearly so) that unless the opportunity involves a publication’s daily newsletter, news can be posted most anytime. So there is often a bit more flexibility. When it comes to daily newsletters, though, it can be like the old print days, with unforgiving deadlines. Miss those and you might have missed the opportunity completely.
So in our opinion (again, maybe it’s that OCD talking), when an opportunity pops up, the rule is you hit the ground running and don’t stop until you have made a happy editor.
One thing that hasn’t changed, and probably never will, is that editors and reporters will come back to sources that come through for them. If they know you can deliver what they need – on time – you rise to the top of their outreach list for the next time. Completed opportunities beget more opportunities, and that makes for PR nirvana.