Some say the Irish are lucky. Others insist their “luck” is simply an ironic affront.
So what about the luck of the public relations professional? In celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, we’re taking a look at how much luck has to do with media relations. After scoring a big hit, sometimes I can’t help but wonder if it was just my lucky day. I have to remind myself that a great deal of strategy, timing and thought went into the carefully crafted pitch email that sparked the reporter’s interest.
Personally, I think it’s a little of both. Kind of like a game of Monopoly – you need to have the strategy and skill to win, but a lucky roll of the dice can certainly do the trick. Here’s my take on the luck vs. skill debate, through what I’m calling the four “I’s” of media relations:
- Instinct – This is something that our CEO, John Seng, brought to the table in our last staff meeting. John was working a story with a reporter he has known for a long time and he went with what his gut was telling him and reached back out to her with what would otherwise be considered an untraditional follow-up approach. As a result, we ended up scoring the top-tier story for our client. This underlying instinct – either gained through complete immersion in an industry or perhaps just inherently in us – is something that we should trust more often when conducting media outreach.
