Nerve Hit. My Tweet Went Viral And I'm Not Sure If It's A Good Thing.
Plus, timely calls for pitches!
Hi all,
I’m currently on my way to Singapore to see Harry Styles in concert and report on the city’s cocktail scene. Needless to say, I’m feeling like…
But let’s jump right into my viral tweet from last week.
Woah! I did not expect this would strike such a chord.
At the surface level, this tweet was meant to call attention to a growing trend in travel PR. This is something my fellow writers and I have privately talked about for weeks, but it was the first time it happened to me. Sure, being uninvited from a trip is insulting and unprofessional (and once I vented about it on Twitter), I realized there’s a bigger conversation here.
Is travel journalism becoming too transactional? Are we letting the best, most interesting stories die before they’re even born?
My favorite press trip-related stories (mostly for top tiers) have always come from trips where confirmed coverage wasn’t required. I found something fascinating from a passing comment during dinner, an incredible experience that happened on the trip or an interesting trend that appeared. If PR is no longer willing to allow these moments to happen, then these unique stories never get told.
I know what you’re thinking. “Yes, but it isn’t the PR; it’s the client!” Many freelancers view this as same-same. Educating clients on the huge benefits and potential risks of working with freelancers is an important part of PR. And there are ways to mitigate that risk (If you’d like to chat about how to do that, please reach out)!
Touching on another topic brought up in the thread…just because freelancers don’t come with confirmed coverage doesn’t mean we’re viewing it as a “free trip.” It’s the exact opposite. We’re in work mode, asking questions, taking notes and looking for great story ideas.
I also empathize with the increased pressure on PR from their clients for ROI post-pandemic. But, isn’t it in freelancers’ best financial and professional interest to write as many different stories as possible post-trip? I’m still writing about brands from trips I took years ago.
Bottom line: Confirmed assignments and a quid pro quo mentality mean PR is cutting off insane long-term upside for clients while burning bridges with freelancers.
And I do want to mention that I work with many incredible PR reps who would shudder at this thread. My favorite thing about them is that our relationships are built off of mutual respect, trust and a love for travel.
OK, I’ll get off my soapbox now.
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I totally hear you and agree with you and yes as a PR person it is our job to educate our clients -- but truth be told, not every client wants to be educated. They listen and then still make an edict for how they want it to go. Unfortunately we do not have ultimate decision-making power and our hands are tied in many instances. And this is not to say that their policies don't backfire on them -- when a confirmed assignment never results in a story because an editor left a publication or a publication folded. And I can first-hand attest to the fact that you are still writing about one of my clients long after you stayed there! But writers just need to know that as PR people, we can't always control our clients no matter how much we would love to and do indeed try. This is particularly true when you are talking a client in another country as, quite often, the policies of their local journalists are different -- I am talking about not just guaranteeing coverage, but down to specifics with number of pages and photos! When they are used to this, they don't get why the whole world doesn't work like this. It's insane.
I think the transactional mindset is part of it. I also think we need to educate clients about playing the long game in PR. Not everything is going to result in immediate coverage. Much like someone's decision to buy a product (or anything really) it sometimes takes multiple "touches" or experiences before you decide to plunk down the cash. Or, in this case, write about something. Glad you sparked a timely conversation!