The Cycle

To social media pitch or not?

What is the right way to pitch tech reporters using social media? I address this question in our current issue, with tech bloggers Sarah Lacy, Brian Solis, and Frank Gruber weighing in. But Lacy, who has been vocal about preferring e-mail over any other pitching method, had some some additional thoughts on the subject that weren’t included in the piece.

On why she prefers e-mail:

“I don’t like PR people to call me at work because…if you call me on deadline, it’s only going to irritate me. It’s even more pronounced with social media because I’m not even there on deadline. I’m there socializing with my friends and interacting people. And if you’re coming in and trying to sell me something – that’s the worst possible representation you could be giving your client.”

But what about PR pros who are your Facebook friends?

“[Certain PR pros] have earned the right to hound me whatever way they want because at the end of the day it is my job to find stories, and they’re not going to waste my time. The reason you have to have an ironclad rule is because it’s a revolving door of who seems to be pitching you. And [some PR pros] seem to think it’s labor intensive to spend five minutes to figure out how to pitch you – much less what you cover or what your name is.”

Readers, any other thoughts on the pros and cons of social media pitches?

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