ROYAL OAK – How do you create meaningful connections in a hyper-communicative world? Tim Moynihan, editorial services and media strategist for Airfoil Public Relations explains in this interview.

Moynihan explores the question with so many lines of digital communication at our disposal, the potential to form lasting connections with media — and audiences directly — have never been better.

Key insights from this Muck Rack survey:
◦ 86% of journalists like when PR pros follow them on social media
◦ 72% of journalists hate phone pitches
◦ Long, impersonal pitches are very ineffective
◦ Twitter is the social network of choice for journalists to keep on top of news, but Facebook casts a much wider net when it comes to story distribution

He explains that simply using these tools to reach journalists and audiences is far from enough. You can turn them off if you do it the wrong way.

Key insights from this Cision report:
– Each journalist uses social media in vastly different ways: Promoters, researchers, etc.
– Email is the Number 1 avenue of communication between PR and journalist, but social is Number 2.

To connect effectively, Communicators need a deeper understanding of how each reporter uses tools. They also need to understand how people in general are using each platform.

·        Twitter is the place to read and report breaking news. It’s the source for finding news trends that can tie into your pitch/outreach process.
·        Facebook drives millions more interactions with stories, but it’s less of a place for breaking news. It drives more discussion and interaction between readers. That makes it a good place to gauge emotional reactions to a story or topic.
·        Due to its visual traits, Instagram can be a place to drive interest in design, products, or fashion. It’s not the place people are going for hard news.
·        Snapchat is more youthful and experiential than Instagram. Snaps from live events, restaurants, bars, nightclubs are a good fit; hard news and “practical” businesses aren’t.
·        Pinterest is where the aspirational things you may see on Instagram can cross into commerce.

He explains that internally, also use tools in the right way. Avoid having to look across multiple places for mission-critical things. Don’t adopt technology for technology’s sake.

• Tools such as Microsoft Teams and Slack make your team more nimble and fast-paced, but try to avoid “channel bloat.” It can make critical information harder to find
• The cloud makes everything collaborative and accessible anywhere, but version control is essential to ensure edits and updates are organized and linear.
• Avoid putting your organization in a long-term “transitional phase” between tools and processes. Take the time to train your staff on new technologies, set a transition deadline, and phase out legacy systems to force the process.

To listen, click on https://soundcloud.com/podcastdetroit/m2techcast-episode-101-tim-moynihan-airfoil-pr