Whether you’re a newbie who’s fresh to the PR world, or an experienced pro with years of knowledge under your belt, we can all fall victim to a PR blunder. Don’t believe us? All you have to do is look through the #PRFail hashtag on Twitter to see an ever-expanding list of grievances from journalists…
By Ruby Edwards3 min read
Whether you’re a newbie who’s fresh to the PR world, or an experienced pro with years of knowledge under your belt, we can all fall victim to a PR blunder.
Don’t believe us? All you have to do is look through the #PRFail hashtag on Twitter to see an ever-expanding list of grievances from journalists and fellow PR professionals who have all been unfortunate enough to witness some significant gaffes.
Major PR errors happen more often than you’d think, so it’s best to be aware of the minefields you should be avoiding and opportunistic behaviours that won’t be tolerated. Here are some of the most common public relations mistakes you should avoid making:
Not using social media effectively
If used properly, social media can be one of the most influential PR tools around.
By sharing content on social channels, thousands of people may be able to view your news. This could quickly start a conversation about your brand, so there is no excuse for not making it an integral part of your PR campaign.
However, it’s important to use it effectively. With sharing able to take place in seconds, there’s no room for mistakes. For example, in 2016, Coca-Cola tweet out a cartoon image of Russia to represent the love for the caffeinated beverage across the country.
This lead to issues for the brand as they used a map of the country that dated from pre-World War II, so entire areas of the country that were annexed from Russia were missing. This led to a lot of needless offence and, as a result, the hashtag #BanCocaCola began trending in Ukraine.
Bad timing or missing deadline
Since PR professionals rely so heavily on their relationships with media contacts, it is crucial to understand the importance of lead times and the print deadline. Missing these deadlines will mean a journalist won’t be able to publish your story and could hinder your chances in the future.
Similarly, if there’s a breaking story hitting the news, journalists will likely be focusing on their coverage for that story. Unless your press release is related, it won’t be a good time to send it in as it will likely be ignored.
You also need to ensure that you time your campaigns right. An example of bad timing comes from AirBnB who launched their ‘floating world’ campaign just as Hurricane Harvey hit Houston. This lousy timing damaged the brand’s reputation as they failed to show the forethought to postpone the campaign to a more appropriate time.
As such, you need to be attentive to the latest events, both in your sector and nationally, and research the deadlines used by the publications you’re targeting. This way, you can schedule a product launch or news release accordingly so you can pitch at a time when it’s going to be fresh, relevant and in time for print dates.
Ignoring the power of bloggers
Bloggers have become a powerful presence in the world of PR, and those whom don’t utilise them correctly are setting themselves up to fail. Firstly, it is a good idea to familiarise yourself with the blog you are trying to collaborate with in order to understand whether their content, tone and style match your brands.
Also question whether they’ll do a good job of promoting your brand and take time to look at their past promotions. While doing this, look out for any bad posts, such as Scott Disick’s when he was promoting BooTea, here, he made a blunder which received no end to the hateful comments and ‘trolling’ both the brand and Scott himself received.
It is also a good idea to go in open-minded as each blogger’s needs are very different, and they may want to feature your brand or product in quirky ways that help them stand out from others.
The final thing to note about bloggers is that they can be very influential with your target market. When working with them, keep them happy, and don’t give them a reason for leaving a negative review. Social media is littered with bloggers who have had bad experiences with brands, and they won’t be afraid to tell their loyal audience.
For more advice on how to maximise your results by sticking to best practice, contact the experts at You Do Better today. The team have years of experience when it comes to securing coverage, launching campaigns and, most importantly, avoiding top PR mistakes.
