What, we hear you ask, can public relations professional learn from dating sites? Here at Viva, we’ve spotted the uncanny similarities with our relationship with journalists, and thought we’d share them with you.
Emotional connection: profiles with pictures get the most hits
Simple but true. People want to put a face with a profile and engage with the person they are talking to. Likewise with a good press release, try to send a picture along to the journalist. It will add a crucial human element to the story and there is more chance of it being used.
Story telling: tell your story, or sit at home, alone
You only have one chance to sell yourself in your profile. You can’t just list a screen name and expect someone to contact you. Whatever your first contact is with a journalist make the headline snappy and hook the reader in the first paragraph.
Simplicity: simplicity rules
All dating sites work on the same principles, name, picture, interests, likes and dislikes. Good releases have to sell the client or brand. Get straight to the point, the best releases follow the simple format of who, what, where, when and why.
Disclosure: repeat business depends on being honest (to a point)
People definitely highlight their best attributes and put some spin on the bits they’re not too confident with to get themselves a date. But, if you’re found out to be saying your 6 ft tall, dark, handsome and you’re actually 5ft and look like Ken Dodd maybe you won’t get a second date. Journalists appreciate honesty, don’t promise them things you can’t deliver and try to always provide a story that’s interesting and accurate.
End result: to get a date
For all parties the end is about getting a date. Likewise for us and the journalists. We get our client coverage and the journo fills another page. It’s a two-way relationship which through following the above rules can develop harmoniously over time.
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