Ms. Nagy

Social Media & PR

Hotel Public Relations: Rethinking Outdated Media Tactics

By Jennifer Nagy, President, jlnpr

When most people think about the public relations profession, they think of two things: spin and propaganda. Sometimes, people will even go so far as to think that public relations professionals are nothing more than paid mouthpieces with questionable morality. Being a PR person, I definitely object to this incorrect portrayal of my beloved career choice. With that being said, I definitely understand where people get this misconception.

The first PR people, like the ‘Father of Spin’ Edward Bernays, used much different tools than the ones that I employ every day in promoting and publicizing my clients. In the early years of PR, propaganda – defined by Edward Bernays as “the conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses” - was a commonly used tool. In the past, publicists were viewed as deceptive manipulators, whereas today, PR people are embraced by journalists as a credible, trustworthy source of information.

This change in perception has been greatly influenced by the continual update of the beliefs, actions and strategies used by professionals in the field. As such, it’s important for the industry to continue moving forward as the world of media and technology changes, updating yesterday’s strategies and tactics to ensure that we, as an industry, are most effective at spreading the word for our clients, our companies or our brands.

So to help you to update your PR strategies, here are three ways that you can rethink your outdated hotel marketing and media strategies and become more effective at generating consumer interest and inspiring action (i.e. bookings!).

Outdated tactic: The press release

I know that you’re probably reading this wondering: “What? But the press release is the basic tool in every PR person’s arsenal. Without the press release, how am I going to inform media about my property’s news?”

Unfortunately though, it’s true. In today’s increasingly competitive media environment and with the press release being overused and abused, it has become a much less effective tool to execute PR and media campaigns. Journalists at the top publications worldwide often receive hundreds, if not thousands, of press releases sent to them for consideration every day. How many of those releases do you think are read start-to-finish? How many do you think are just thrown into the recycling bin without a second glance?

So if the press release no longer works, what is a more effective way of communicating with media? How can you use public relations to generate coverage on your property without the press release?

Today, marketers and PR professionals need to find a way to make their stories stand out from the crowd. Of course, you still need to have good info, a credible source and a great angle – all the things that formed the basis of a press release – but today, repackaging that info in a complete pitch and presenting an entire story, rather than just offering info, is a much more effective way of getting the media’s attention.

Let’s look at an example to illustrate what I mean about this change in tactics. Imagine that you wanted to publicize the newly renovated fitness center at your property. Rather than just sending out a press release informing media that you’ve just reopened your revamped fitness center on-site, fit that news into a trend story or a story that has more widespread impact. So for example, you could pitch a story on the increasing importance of fitness centers in customers’ decision-making process when booking a hotel or a trend story that focuses on how properties are choosing to undertake improvements on their property in order to stand out from the competition in the increasingly competitive hotel environment. Of course, with both of these pitches, you would need to have statistical proof or evidence that backs up your claim (or supports the fact that this story is in fact, a trend). And of course, in both situations, you would inform the journalist about your property’s renovations and tie it into the story, while offering up a spokesperson to comment on the trend/story.

By offering this “complete package”, you’ll be providing the journalist with everything that they need to put together their story, rather than expecting them to read between the lines of your press release to find a story angle that would be newsworthy for all of their readers. Journalists will always react favorably to marketers who make their jobs easier so always work with that intention in the back of your mind.

In terms of format, there is no right or wrong way to send a story pitch, but in general, keep it as short and to-the-point as possible. I personally prefer an informal email, just a few paragraphs outlining the story concept and the source that you’re offering to comment on the story. Explain why this story will be newsworthy for the journalist’s audience because often, the connection may not be immediately available, and again, it’s about making a journalist’s job easier.

Outdated tactic: Spamming

In the past, marketers believed that PR was a numbers game: send out your press release to more people and you’ll get more coverage; in reality though, less is more.

Journalists know how to recognize a matte pitch, meaning that it was not targeted specifically to their publication or the types of stories that they like to cover. Some key giveaways are when you don’t personalize the email and when you use generalized statements that will appeal to all audiences - from the journalist at the New York Times travel section to the editor at a trade industry publication.

Today, journalists want to know that you’ve compiled your media list focusing on quality, not quantity of contacts. Create a short list of the publications in which you’d like to have your news covered, and send out your info to only the journalists who specifically cover the topic that you’re pitching. Don’t send the same story to five different travel writers at a publication; do research online, or even by calling, to ask who the right person would be to receive your news. This will show journalists that you aren’t just spamming the world and that you’ve taken the time and consideration to make your pitch work for them.

Again, this comes back to making a journalist’s job easier. If you can tailor the pitch to exactly what they are looking for, not requiring them to read between the lines to find the story, then they are more likely to choose to cover your story over others.

Outdated tactic: Print is best

Traditionally, the media outlets that were considered to be the “best” outlets to pitch were those published in print. Today, that is no longer the case. With the growth in technology and the presence of free online news sites, a huge shift in readership is taking place. Many online sites have higher readership than the traditional daily papers do. The daily newspapers – that have long been printed on newsprint and delivered door-to-door - are also moving online, finding that more people want to have access to their news, whenever, wherever, online from their mobile phones or laptops.

So what does this mean for marketers?

It’s simple: don’t ignore the online medium because of the mistaken impression that print news has the most value or prestige. Successful marketing and public relations is about reaching the most people; if most of your target audience is online, then why look elsewhere?

Good public relations is about communicating and an important part of good communications is knowing how to make your story stand out from the crowd (or in this case, piles) of other news stories sitting on a journalist’s desk. By updating your PR strategy to incorporate these three media tactics, you’ll find that you will be more effective at getting your story heard – and covered – by the people that matter.

Jennifer Nagy, President at jlnpr, is a public relations pro with a passion for the hospitality industry. Jennifer’s work with high-profile national and international clients in the travel and tourism, airline, lodging, cruise and meeting/event sectors has focused on crafting coherent messaging and creating wide-scale media exposure with the end result of creating new business opportunities and increasing revenues. Ms. Nagy is widely recognized as an expert in hotel and hospitality marketing by her ongoing columns in leading industry publications Ms. Nagy can be contacted at jenn@jlnpr.com Extended Bio...

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