DanMartin
20th February 2009, 11:05
A British business journalist is so fed up with receiving irrelevant PR material that for two days next week he will only accept pitches via social network Twitter.
Naming it the PR Pitch by Twitter Challenge, Dan Martin, editor of BusinessZone.co.uk, is calling on public relations executives to ‘twitch’ – pitch what they have to say about a client in just 140 characters on 23 and 24 February.
Frustrated by the amount of people who contact him with potential stories completely unrelated to the subjects he covers, Martin says he will only accept pitches in a tweet targeted at www.twitter.com/businesszone (http://www.twitter.com/businesszone) or www.twitter.com/dan_martin (http://www.twitter.com/dan_martin). Those which spread across several posts will not be considered.
Dan Martin comments: "While I have regular dealings with several excellent PRs, far too much poorly targeted information clogs up my inbox and voicemail so it’s time for a change! A key skill of public relations is writing punchy, catchy copy which draws the journalist in, so what better place to do that than on Twitter?
"Twitter is rapidly becoming a must use resource for media professionals. It is now common place for news stories to break on the site and as well as several celebrities, an increasing number of British politicians are starting to tweet.
"Earlier this week, after failing to get in touch with Liberal Democrat shadow chancellor Vince Cable, a colleague vented her frustrations on Twitter only to receive an apologetic tweet from the party followed by a phone call from the man himself just minutes later!
"If this two-day experiment works, I may well extend it and say goodbye to having to clean out my inbox and listen to irrelevant voicemail messages on a daily basis!"
Dan Martin will blog about his experiences and publish the best tweeted pitches on BusinessZone.co.uk.
ENDS
Editor’s Notes
BusinessZone.co.uk is an online community that delivers day-to-day practical advice and guidance for small business entrepreneurs. BusinessZone.co.uk runs alongside UK Business Forums, the UK's most active online community forums for small businesses and start-ups. www.BusinessZone.co.uk (http://www.businesszone.co.uk/) www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk (http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk)
For more information contact Dan Martin on 0117 915 8638, dan.martin@businesszone.co.uk or www.twitter.com/dan_martin (http://www.twitter.com/dan_martin)
Naming it the PR Pitch by Twitter Challenge, Dan Martin, editor of BusinessZone.co.uk, is calling on public relations executives to ‘twitch’ – pitch what they have to say about a client in just 140 characters on 23 and 24 February.
Frustrated by the amount of people who contact him with potential stories completely unrelated to the subjects he covers, Martin says he will only accept pitches in a tweet targeted at www.twitter.com/businesszone (http://www.twitter.com/businesszone) or www.twitter.com/dan_martin (http://www.twitter.com/dan_martin). Those which spread across several posts will not be considered.
Dan Martin comments: "While I have regular dealings with several excellent PRs, far too much poorly targeted information clogs up my inbox and voicemail so it’s time for a change! A key skill of public relations is writing punchy, catchy copy which draws the journalist in, so what better place to do that than on Twitter?
"Twitter is rapidly becoming a must use resource for media professionals. It is now common place for news stories to break on the site and as well as several celebrities, an increasing number of British politicians are starting to tweet.
"Earlier this week, after failing to get in touch with Liberal Democrat shadow chancellor Vince Cable, a colleague vented her frustrations on Twitter only to receive an apologetic tweet from the party followed by a phone call from the man himself just minutes later!
"If this two-day experiment works, I may well extend it and say goodbye to having to clean out my inbox and listen to irrelevant voicemail messages on a daily basis!"
Dan Martin will blog about his experiences and publish the best tweeted pitches on BusinessZone.co.uk.
ENDS
Editor’s Notes
BusinessZone.co.uk is an online community that delivers day-to-day practical advice and guidance for small business entrepreneurs. BusinessZone.co.uk runs alongside UK Business Forums, the UK's most active online community forums for small businesses and start-ups. www.BusinessZone.co.uk (http://www.businesszone.co.uk/) www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk (http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk)
For more information contact Dan Martin on 0117 915 8638, dan.martin@businesszone.co.uk or www.twitter.com/dan_martin (http://www.twitter.com/dan_martin)