Avoid the 3 B2B pitching traps – send, spam, and silence
In the B2B marketing world, we are constantly told about the latest and greatest ways of reaching target audiences or capturing new leads. But what about one of the oldest tools in the B2B marketing toolkit, email marketing? Because make no mistake about it, pitching to a journalist is email marketing by another name!
A recent Cision report highlighted the overwhelming reliance by journalists on PR-provided content (66%), despite this, 72% said they only consider a quarter of pitches they receive. The days of ‘blanket’ emailing are over – it’s time to get targeted!
Far too often, B2B PR and marketing pros fall at the first hurdle, they become so obsessed by the content that they forget about some of the most important aspects of a B2B pitch – the targeted audience, the subject line, the topic, and the all-important call to action!
So, before B2B PR and marketing pros even start thinking about drafting their next pitch, here are four key ways to improve pitch performance. Because no one is blacklisted overnight, it’s a buildup of missteps that are dragging down pitch performance.
1. Contact clear out – targeting the right people with the right content
In a world where people now trust people more than ever, journalists only write about companies they know, from sources they trust! And that starts with PR and marketing pros tidying target media targets – getting rid of old contacts, updating with new ones, ensuring all contacts are relevant. What’s more, key details such as understanding the best pitching times, language preferences, and it should be a no-brainer but knowing journalist names (are they Chuck or Charles), can make all the difference!
At IBA, we have a team of Pitch&Place specialists to make sure we have personalization down to a T. We have our own database of 120,000 global publications and 800,000 named journalists and we carefully analyze each target journalist’s subject matter, editorial calendars, and past output before drafting timely and relevant content that ties our clients’ themes with a key industry topic.
2. Humans trust humans – start sounding like one!
The subject line of a pitch can be the make-or-break factor on whether the journalist engages or ignores. With trust now a crucial factor within the B2B world, and with journalists utilizing trusted sources more than ever, it can all be lost in a heartbeat if they spot telltale signs that the content is AI-generated. You’ve just shot yourself in the digital foot before you’ve even started!
The subject line is the first thing the journo reads. Remember you’ve only got one line, so use it wisely! What does your audience want to read. About you or how your product/solution has solved a key industry issue or challenge. There’s a good reason why the boiler place is at the very end of every press release!
Remember, spam filters are not only in inboxes but also in journalists’ minds. Spam systems are getting more sophisticated, and so too are journalists; the overuse or repetition of certain words or phrases is now getting flagged as system and mental spam!
3. Signals speak louder than words
For B2B PR and marketing pros, the real challenge in today’s landscape is establishing journalist relationships, and that starts with relevance and trust. There is little PR and marketing pros can do to rectify sending transport publications a pitch on retail payments. This will just end with annoyed journalists and a bunch of opt-outs. Think before you pitch!
Every piece of content pitched should serve a purpose to educate and interest the journalist and their audience – herein lies the power of Signal Theory. With nearly 80% of journalists more likely to engage with pitches that are aligned to their interests and audience, PR and marketing pros need to ensure they are pitching the right content to the relevant people, but how?
Enter, trendjacking, the art of creating content that aligns with real-world industry challenges or events. Or why not try social listening? The process of monitoring and analyzing what journalists are speaking about and engaging with on social media to gain insights into customer pain points, market trends, and brand narratives.
4. Be as clear and concise as possible
Journalists live life in the fast lane, and it’s only getting faster with the number of pitches they are receiving increasing. Pitches need to have a clear purpose, a call to action, and cite what the next action is.
Too often, B2B PR and marketing pros get lost in a mire of words, perfect environment for journalists lose interest!
Pitching strategies need to have purpose. What is it intending to achieve? If it’s a media invite, state it, if it’s an article, state it, a press release, state it – you get the gist!
The perfect pitch requires more than just the content
B2B pitching performance isn’t going to improve overnight just because of a magical subject line or the call to action being made clearer. It takes time for relationships to be established.
Sending, spamming with chasers, and then silence is an approach desperate PR Pros are often guilty of. It is no way to build a media relalationship.
These four tips will help get the right sort of media attention and pave the way to improved pitching performance. Happy pitching!
Sam Walker is a PR Executive at IBA International.
