Today we're joined again by Lissa Gruman, a partner at Gruman & Nicoll Public Relations specializing in getting media coverage for hotels.

This final installment of our three part-conversation explains how hotels can merge traditional and new media to reach journalists and guests.

Josiah: In the context of public relations, is social media messaging intended for the end consumer or the guest, or are we trying to reach journalists through social media?

Lissa: I think it's a mix. I spend a lot of the time reaching out to both. The trick with the social media is getting the journalists that you want to have your information – and obviously those are at the largest organizations – to want to follow you or like you and want to know what you have to say. And that's challenging. There's a lot of content out there in the world and a lot of people vying for space in reaching that content and distributing it.

The other part of it is establishing – and this kind of goes back to age old PR practices – credibility and relationships with the media, such that there are people that know that they can come to you and ask you for an idea, or they're putting a query out, and know that you give them a credible, timely, relevant response. And those practices won't go away.

I hate to think that the only way they'll ever know something about me or my client is with X number of characters, and we wouldn't communicate beyond that.

Josiah: Exactly. Do you feel that traditional press releases still work in your experience? Have they diminished in effectiveness? Do you feel that relationships or personal connections that you've established are better ways to reach journalists, or do you still see that press releases are getting picked up by some important media outlets?

Lissa: I think it's a combination. You need to try a lot of things. I still believe, first and foremost, that personal relationships really make a huge difference. I know that when I've met somebody or I've spoken with a journalist, and now we know each other, that at that point in time, I can obviously establish a social media relationship with them, with some sort of vehicle that way, but I also know that I could send them a press release and they'll get it and read it.

It varies, but I don't believe, for the time being anyway, that the traditional press release has completely gone away or vanished or is irrelevant. There's still a place for it. What percentage of the place, I don't know that I could speak to. But anybody who is only using traditional media and not using social media and vice versa is not smart. I think a well bridge between the two is the way to go.

Josiah: Do you have any favorite websites for distributing press releases, or do you just send them directly to journalists that you know?

Lissa: We use a variety. My Emma is a great one, and we also use that for guest communications. It works really well. You can manage your lists. We of course use Cision, and we can work through that. There're new competitors coming out that will compete against them as well, but they will allow you to build your search and your queries and to then distribute directly from there. That's a really exciting opportunity as well in distribution.

The distribution piece is always hard. There're always mixed messages, and it's a very individual process. Many journalists say, "I don't want bulk press releases. I want you to come to me with a specific pitch." And in many cases, I may want that to be an exclusive.

There are others that want – in this age of fast moving online, where you've got a blog to fill or you've got online content in some way you're trying to fill – these short, fast bursts of information, because people are putting out information at this rapid fire rate that they want to fill it.

Traditionally, newspapers are still good for press releases. Long lead magazines can still be good for press releases. And I think there's a way to intersect with their online divisions to be able to provide them with short bursts of electronic information that they can fill in the short-term on their websites.

Josiah: So in your experience, what are some of the similar characteristics of businesses that get a lot of press coverage? We've talked a little bit about amenities and story hooks that seem to work well, but I'm wondering if the management at these companies that get a lot of media attention just have a different philosophy of operating?

Lissa: They do have a philosophy of operating. They're fluid. I think you have to be fluid. You have to allow your staff to share information. And I don't mean proprietary, anything that is extremely proprietary. But you have to allow your staff to be somewhat spontaneous, to say, "Oh my gosh, you're not going to believe what happened today. Our concierge did X, Y, and Z for a guest, and that guest was so excited." That's a great service story.

So, allowing the management to share what's going on at the property level is really important. And to stay fluid and flexible, to say, "Well, that's a little bit of a wacky idea, but we're willing to try it to see what happens with it.'"

So number one is flexibility of management to allow – in a controlled environment – spontaneity of communication.

Josiah: Very, very good. So if someone is listening to this and they're considering hiring a PR professional, what are some questions that you would recommend they use in the selection process?

Lissa: Be really clear on expectations and goals. What will success look like for you, and what will success look like for me? And I am very clear when meeting with new clients to make sure that we're in alignment on those two. Because if I feel that the expectations are unreasonable, chances are pretty good that I would decline taking the project on. I would at the very least be very clear in saying, I'm not sure that those are realistic deliverables. But again, it goes back to a perception out there of what PR is.

PR is difficult because it's a little nebulous. And if you don't have experience working with PR professionals, sometimes I've found that companies are not clear; they don't really understand on a daily basis what they're getting for their money. They want results, and the social marketing piece hasn't helped that very much, because we're living in this instant world of instant gratification.

But many times it takes months and months to place a story. And because they don't see their PR professional on a daily basis, or they're not getting clips in the mail on a daily basis, the perception may be that there's no activity. But that's not entirely fair. It takes a while to place these stories and to find the appropriate channels and to build relationships. So patience is a part of that. PR – unless it's got a start and a finish – is not a quick fix.

Josiah: Excellent. Well, thank you for sharing your thoughts with us today, Lissa.

Lissa: Thank you so very much for thinking of me. I really appreciate it.

www.hotelmarketingstrategies.com/mixing-traditional-pr

About the author
This blog is written by Josiah Mackenzie, who enjoys exploring the relationship between emerging technology and the hospitality industry. 

www.hotelmarketingstrategies.com