By making the media more accessible than ever before, Twitter is changing how public relations professionals engage with journalists. Offering insight into the day-to-day (and sometimes personal) lives of reporters, Twitter puts a “face to the name” – and provides other, non-traditional ways to “connect.” PR pros would be wise to use this to their advantage. Creating any sort of relationship – even a virtual one – is better than simply making a blind pitch.

More accessible

Pitching via Twitter works especially well when the reporter is actively searching for story leads. Follow journalists in your area – or nationally if you have appropriate clients – and pay attention to their tweets! By reading one tweet from a TV anchor, my coworkers and I were able to land six different TV news stories for multiple clients.

Twitter can also work when the reporters aren’t actively seeking story ideas or resources. Pay attention to the stories they link to – and the comments they make. Do you have a client who would be an appropriate follow-up to a story they’ve linked to? If so, pitch them.

Where to find them. . .
Twitter has spawned many different web sites purely dedicated to listing media personnel who tweet. Two of my favorites are Muck Rack and Media on Twitter. Muck Rack contains real-time updates from tweeting reporters – an excellent resource for national leads. Media on Twitter allows you to search for particular publications (like your local daily paper). In addition to those online resources, many publications list employees with Twitter accounts. (Check out the Orlando Sentinel’s tweeps.)

So how should PR pros contact reporters?

I’ve encountered varying opinions on this topic – and everyone has a different preference for being pitched. To alleviate any future issues, I think a quick direct message or @reply to the reporter to ask about their contact preference should suffice – and answer your question. If they don’t respond, there’s a good chance they don’t want to be pitched through Twitter. However, if the reporter is asking for leads or a story idea on Twitter, then by all means respond via direct message or e-mail.

I’d like your take on this: Do you think there are certain rules that need to be followed when using Twitter to pitch media? Have you had success using this channel?

A couple weeks ago, my younger brother Shane lambasted Twitter as another social network fad. You see, he has always chastised social networking tools as pointless and powerless distractions from reality.
I did concede that Twitter could be a waste of time. But, I argued that you can follow those on Twitter who offer excellent insight into topics that interest you. You just have to look beyond what celebrity magazines consider tweet-worthy. Shane rolled his eyes and joked about me doing PR for Twitter.

Then late last week, Shane wrote me an e-mail saying he admits that Twitter can serve people in a good way – as illustrated by the recent post-election events in Iran. The Chicago Tribune recently had a good story about the phenomenon and its impact. Here’s what Shane wrote me:

“I have wondered long and hard over many of our breakthroughs in technology, but this twittering thing seems to have a silver lining. Much how e-mail was touted as a pen-pal’s dream, Twitter has been a great place to catch up on friends we lost years ago and a good way to find out what our celebrities eat while they watch things we have not heard of. But in the hands of good people who are actually trying to better their situations, against odds quite daunting, the tweets from the Iran election were finally heard ’round the world. The situation in Iran really has made me rethink the power an Internet social network may hold. So Doreen: 1, Shane: 0.”

Well, with a mature response like that, I can’t match it. So I concede the score – Doreen: 1, Shane: 1. My baby brother schooled me.

We’ve written before about the need for companies to understand how social media influences internal communication. But, it’s just as important for executives to realize how employees are using these tools to communicate externally — often without management being “in the know.”

Case in point: This week, the beleaguered Minnesota Timberwolves decided against re-signing coach Kevin McHale. Following employee communication best practices, the team’s front office communicated from the inside, out — breaking the news to staff and players first. A long-time member of the T-wolves organization, McHale was well-liked by his young team, and many of them were upset about this change in direction. Before the organization made the news public, forward Kevin Love broke the story on Twitter, writing:

Today is a sad day…Kevin McHale will NOT be back as head coach next season.

Team president David Hahn didn’t seem to mind that the team’s announcement got scooped by Twitter. As he said:”I don’t want Kevin [Love] to feel badly about that. We live in a very different world than all of us grew up in. I don’t think it’s a big deal.”

In this day and age, communication is instant and word spreads quickly. But, sometimes breaking news on Twitter is a big deal — and problematic. From a PR perspective, employee education is key to managing the message.

1. Employees must understand what’s acceptable to share online … and what’s not.
2. When companies make big announcements, they should explain when it’s appropriate for employees to share company updates on their personal networks.
3. Companies should understand how their employees are using social media and look for opportunities to work together to spread good news or clear up “mistruths.”

One thing’s for sure: As social media continues to infiltrate our lives, situations like this are more likely to arise. Businesses need to be prepared … or risk being caught off guard –  like the Timberwolves.

A guest post from Shari Orr, communications specialist for the Central Florida Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida.

In December 2008, Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida officially entered the social media ring. We have been blogging, tweeting, Facebooking, and uploading content to YouTube and Flickr ever since. We love being a part of something so timely, with our primary goal being to build open relationships with each tweet, blog post, and photo set. Through these developing relationships, we hope to change perspectives on homelessness, encourage volunteer involvement, and garner much-needed donations. The “Orlando ‘Can’ Care Challenge” would allow us to see if we were meeting our goals.

Recently, we’ve noticed a drastic drop in food donations from individuals and in the food supplies available from local food banks. To help meet the shortage we are facing, we decided to launch a bold Challenge to our local community: the “Orlando ‘Can’ Care Challenge.” We even had a prize for our winners (a rarity in the nonprofit world!). We decided to test the waters of social media by challenging only our Twitter, Facebook and blog friends to help fill our cupboards. We were a little nervous, but our action-oriented social media friends did not disappoint us.

After several Facebook and Twitter teasers about an upcoming contest, we issued the Challenge on our blog “Hope for the Homeless,” including all the details participants would need to know. The premise was simple: we needed large quantities of food, and whatever social media friends helped us collect the most would win a guest blogging opportunity. The Challenge ran from Thursday, May 7 until Friday, May 15. The time frame gave participants a chance to make a weekend shopping trip, but was short enough to maintain a sense of urgency.

Over the next week, we tweeted and Facebooked updates as new donations were brought in, uploading Flickr photos of each donation or group. During the Challenge, we wrote a blog post about the prevalence of hunger in America to keep the topic fresh and to actively challenge poverty stereotypes. By Friday at 5 p.m., with only a few hours of staff time invested in the Challenge, we were rewarded with 1,000 pounds of food! Needless to say, we were thrilled.

An interesting aspect of the Challenge was that several of our participants had never donated or volunteered with the Coalition before (@MLTV and @cherylp3 are examples of our wonderful new donors). This confirmed that we are establishing strong new relationships through our social media sites. Also, all but one of our participants found out about the Challenge from Twitter (Workscapes, the grand winner, learned about the Challenge through our blog). So, we learned that for now Twitter is the most efficient site for quickly mobilizing our friends to meet a need. (We also experienced Twitter’s usefulness when we requested blanket donations in February.)

Looking at the half-ton of food we gained from the Challenge, the new donor relationships we established, and the information we received about our social media presence, we vote that the Challenge was an outstanding success!

And you know what that means: watch out for the next Challenge. We can’t wait!

When looking for advice about social media, BusinessWeek might not be the first resource that comes to mind, but it’s quickly moving up on the list. Engaging readers, measuring metrics and crowdsourcing for story resources, the magazine is walking the walk. In fact, editor-in-chief John Byrne’s Twitter account is often cited as an example of a traditional media person getting and embracing social media. (He is one of 30+ tweeting BusinessWeek journalists.

In 2005, BusinessWeek published an article foreshadowing how “Blogs Will Change Your Business” (updated version here.) Since then, they’ve continued to offer insightful articles that explain the relevance of social media to business leaders. Further cementing itself as a social media resource, BusinessWeek recently published “An Executive Guide to Social Meida.”

In case you missed the issue, or didn’t have time to flip through all the stories, we’ve compiled our favorites. These articles make the case for why, as BusinessWeek put it, smart companies are embracing social media. If you’re company hasn’t added social media to the marketing mix, check out these must-reads.

Dive Into Social Media Now

The Smart Way to Tap Social Media

Web 2.0 Managing Corporate Reputations

Keeping Momentum in Social Media

Openness and the Internet

CEOs Who Use Twitter

A recent AP story explored the panic that ensued when teens were forced to unplug at summer camp. Evidently many outdoor camps don’t allow cell phones, laptops or iPods, and there are no computer labs. Campers were so nervous about the experience that some even tried to smuggle in phones or bring in multiple devices in case one was confiscated. The parents were equally anxious with the change, as they had grown accustomed to constant contact with their kids.

The article goes on to quote several campers who explained that the break was a positive experience and that they had fun doing other things. But what happened when the campers returned to civilization? Did they give up texting or Facebook?

Nope – they just had more friends to stay connected with.

While the article raised some concerns about my children soon asking for their own cell phones, the real takeaway for me was how much the next generation incorporates technology into their lives. Businesses that aren’t taking this shift seriously and translating their brand online are going to find out that they don’t have a means to communicate with new customers. The “marketing toolbox” has expanded dramatically in a very short period of time … and knowing how to incorporate traditional tools with new ones is critical for sustainable business growth.

Photo: ninahale

If you’re paying attention to Twitter on Monday evenings, it’s hard to avoid tweets that include “#journchat.” What is this #journchat, you might ask? It’s a regularly scheduled conversation taking place on Twitter. Created by Sarah Evans, this “event” (which occurs every Monday night from 7-10 p.m. CST) connects PR people, journalists and bloggers. Notably, #journchat was the first of its kind — and has since spawned a whole genre of online conversations. (This is different than simply “tagging” a tweet with a number sign, which is done to help sort messages. Tweetchats are actually like very large chat rooms.)

Inevitably, every Monday, someone ends up asking “What’s #journchat?” — probably after seeing a rush of tweets with this tag in their stream. With hundreds of participants every week, the Journchat experience can be somewhat overwhelming. But, it shouldn’t be. In reality, it’s an opportunity to learn from some very smart people throughout the country and to expand your personal network.

To get started, you just need to understand the anatomy of a hashtag chat:

• Moderator — The person is like a host. Normally, it’s the chat’s creator … but not always. For #journchat, Sarah Evans is the moderator, operating the Journchat Twitter account. The weekly #socialmedia chat was founded by Jason Breed, but is moderated by a different social media thought-leader each week.
• Rules — Some tweetchats have general guidelines to make sure the conversation doesn’t turn too salesy or get off-topic. (See the graphic for Journchat rules.)
• Guest — To bring a different perspective to the chat, tweetchats sometimes include special guests who field questions from participants.
• Participants — Pretty self-explanatory, these are the people offering suggestions, asking and answering questions and engaging in conversation with the rest of the community.
• Spammers — These are the annoying people who ignore the tweetchat rules — instead opting to promote themselves or ask questions out of turn.
• Chat rooms — For the more popular chats, following the high-speed conversation is challenging. Luckily, there are tools to make the process better. The best one seems to be Tweetgrid — which lets user create different fields. I suggest creating three searches: your name, the moderator’s name and the hashtag.

Ready to test the tweetchat waters? Check out Arik Hanson’s starter list of moderated discussions, which includes #gno (girls night out), #smbiz (small business) and #ageop (age of opportunity). And, feel free to use the comments section to tell us about your favorite chats!