5 things that a Public Relation professional should refrain from:

a.      a.When it comes to pitching for a new business most PR executives love conducting media audits. They randomly call the journalists to get some perception or insights for the pitch. Most often these audits are done at the last minute and the journalist gets irked when he or she is contacted. One needs to understand that these audits will not give any great insights as invariably the sample size is very low.

b.      b.Don’t expect any traction out of press releases. Press release has become outdated and old fashioned. The inboxes of most journalists are always flooded with millions of releases across the country and they invariably miss their eyes as they have other priorities to attend to. Instead one need to be smart and find out is there a good angle to pitch it as a good story and get published. Set your clients expectations on press release as most clients still expect high hits on press releases in both online and print. 

c.       c.Please give the journalists his space. It has become a habit with most of them to keep calling the journalist after one sends some press note or a press release. Let us understand and respect the journalist as they have lot of other things to do and hence it is important to do your follow up in the most understanding and interesting manner by not straining one’s relationship 

d.      d.Never drop a journalists name during new business pitches. Some professional’s likes to demonstrate their media relationship strengths in the meeting by dropping the name but at times one does not realize the correctness of the name and publication and the next thing you get to know is that he or she has moved from the publication. Thus cutting a sorry figure. Also some clients quiz the agency at times, so it is better to avoid mentioning  any names  

e.     e. Avoid outsourcing for authored or placed articles. As a public relation professional the onus lies with the person handling the account to write this as he or she has deeper understanding of the brand. The outsourcing can help you in the short run but in the long run your writing and thinking skills count a lot to build your career in this profession.