Enhance your media relations strategy with Paraqeet

With a news cycle that is constant and almost entirely online, what does a modern (and successful) media relations strategy look like? 

Building relationships with members of the media requires time and energy. According to a study published in Public Relations Journal, journalists are looking for effective relationships with communications professionals that are built over time with valued information exchange. 

In the 21st century, building those relationships takes place on the internet. According to a study by Muck Rack, 83% of journalists believe Twitter to be the most valuable social media platform. On Twitter, journalists share recent work, current interests, concerns and unique perspectives — incredibly valuable information that could play a key role in tailoring your pitch to get your story noticed. But synthesizing and making sense of all this can be difficult. 

Fortunately, Paraqeet does this for you. 

Paraqeet provides additional context, resources and insight

We demonstrated how Paraqeet can enhance your media relations strategy and analyzed the social networks of economic reporters at three of the top news outlets: The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Washington Post. 

We searched each reporter’s Twitter handle over a fixed time period (Jan. 14-26), which revealed the networks below. 

Kate Davidson of The Wall Street Journal is focused on federal debt 

Davidson’s staff bio reads: “covers the Federal Reserve and U.S. economy from the Wall Street Journal’s Washington bureau.” The Federal Reserve and U.S. economy are broad topics. Fortunately, Paraqeet provided additional insight into Davidson’s reporting.

At the time this search was performed, Davidson reported on Janet Yellen’s new role as the United States secretary of the treasury and Yellen’s approach to the federal debt. 

Media relations professionals can use these clues about a reporter’s interests to personalize their pitches. Evaluating Davidson’s network gave us valuable tips that easily can be incorporated in our outreach. 

• Be relevant: Tailor your outreach to be relevant to the federal debt situation
• Make a connection: Mention the recent confirmation of Janet Yellen as treasury secretary
• Go further: Gain additional context by searching “Janet Yellen” or “Federal Debt” on Paraqeet
• Read: The Debt Question Facing Janet Yellen: How Much is Too Much? by Kate Davidson and Jon Hilsenrath (the article most widely circulated in Davidson’s network)

Ben Casselman of The New York Times is thinking about minimum wage

Casselman’s staff bio reads: “Ben Casselman writes about economics and other business topics for The New York Times, with a particular focus on stories involving data.” To gain a better understanding of the business topics Casselman reports on, we searched @bencasselman on Paraqeet. 

Casselman’s network revealed his primary focus on federal minimum wage policy and thoughts on the economic challenges ahead. Here are tips to more effectively reach out to Casselman. 

• Be relevant: Highlight how your story is relevant to the economy under Biden’s administration
• Make a connection: Can you incorporate minimum wage debt in your outreach?
• Go further: Search “minimum wage debt” on Paraqeet to see who and what is influencing that conversation 
• Read: “10 Challenges Biden Faces in Righting the Economy” (the article circulated that Casselman contributed to and garnered attention in his network)

Heather Long of The Washington Post is focused on federal aid

Long’s staff bio reads: “Economics Correspondent,” which doesn’t give us much to work with, and Long’s social network gave us some much-needed context into her reporting.

From Long’s network, we quickly learned her reporting has been focused on federal aid programs and gained quick tips to reach out to her with relevancy. 

• Be relevant: Focus your outreach to be relevant to federal aid
• Make a connection: If applicable, how is federal assistance relevant to your story?
• Read: “Cutting off stimulus checks to Americans earning over $75,000 could be wise, new data suggests” (the article by Long referenced in her network)
• Listen: “The Economic Challenges Facing the New Administration and Congress” podcast by EconoFact which Long joined as a guest

The bottom line: Use Paraqeet to craft a smarter media relations strategy 

If you’re a media relations pro looking to place a story for a client, with a few quick Paraqeet searches, you can learn that Davidson is focused on federal debt, Casselman is concerned about minimum wage policy, and Long has concentrated on federal aid programs. Under the same umbrella as “economic reporters,” Paraqeet revealed how the three journalists focus on different aspects of the economy. 

Paraqeet enables you to differentiate among reporters and gain a deeper understanding of them, and it provides the quick context, insight and resources that ensure you’re reaching out with valued information — the crux of any relationship.

Key Takeaways:

• Twitter provides a wealth of information on journalists (way more than staff bios) 
• Easily differentiate among reporters and reach out with confidence 
• Paraqeet’s quick media relations tips could be the key to helping your story stand out
• Paraqeet evolves with the news cycle: You can perform a search anytime on anyone
• You can only benefit from using Paraqeet when it comes to media relations, so why not?

Sign up for a free Paraqeet trial today.