Three reasons you should not be afraid to pitch your story to global media

Or, how globalisation has brought “global” a lot closer for PR.

Why does getting your story covered in an international media outlet — or any publication outside of your home country — seem so out of reach for many PR professionals? Do you really need agencies in every country your organisation operates in?

I have answered “yes” to that last question many times in my life. I can still make a good argument for why a nuanced understanding of any country, its politics and culture is required for good PR work (it’s true). But I’ll make the opposite argument here.

PR has always stuck close to home. Here’s why it shouldn’t.

1. The language barrier is mostly gone

If you can’t read or write in Swedish, you’re not going to have it easy pitching a story to the Swedish media. Or is that so?

A native speaker will always have the upper hand but in 2012, 38 per cent of Europeans considered that they can speak English. That’s excluding native speakers.

Business and tech media are almost sure to be proficient in English given the dominance of the US as the source of news and the need for journalists to be proficient.

What this means for the PR person is that if the story has enough pull, you will have no problem communicating with a journalist in English no matter their native language. I personally know this to be true for Europe and most of Africa and Asia-Pacific.

Also, it’s likely that the media you’re courting is English-language anyway. And in that case, the level of English spoken by most comms professionals today is wholly sufficient to be able to pitch a story to Reuters, Bloomberg or TechCrunch.

Tip: make things a bit easier for the non-English journalist and have your press release or other types of background information translated — but don’t worry about pitching them in English.

2. The media landscape is more global than ever

It used to be that you needed a lot of time to become “fluent” in a media landscape. This is still valid for topics that are specific to geography or culture.

But the globalisation of media means that we’re immersed in news from around the world almost constantly. In technology, a lot of topics transcend geography. The tastemakers and influencers tend to be in the US but also the UK (with London still the largest hub for tech but also the media).

This means that by following certain publications (like TechCrunch or The Information) and newsletters (like Sifted or Benedict Evans) you’re able to be as well versed in global tech trends as anyone in Silicon Valley or London.

This also means that competition is more fierce. But that’s not a reason to undercut yourself and the story you’re pitching.

3. “Let’s talk over a coffee” is mostly gone

The nostalgic idea of media relations involves mingling over drinks or meeting up with that reporter just to exchange gossip. I don’t think that’s entirely gone. Tech conferences like Web Summit or Slush used to be great places for face-to-face meetings, up until recently.

Just as in e-commerce and teleconferencing, media relations saw an acceleration in a trend that was already happening.

Journalists have preferred to stay close to their desks for a while. Not least because the time pressure they have to deal with has increased along with expectations of constant high-quality “content”. With sources around the world, video calls, emails and Twitter have stepped in to replace physical meetings. This is not a trend that’s likely to reverse.

These kinds of virtual relationships are of course perfect for someone who doesn’t have the geographical advantage of living in London, New York or San Francisco. You will simply need to employ tools that help you to emulate that proximity. Again, Twitter.

This is a screenshot of my Tweetdeck, with watchlists of tech influencers and noteworthy journalists filtered out for an easier overview. If I pitch someone, getting a basic understanding of what’s interesting to them right now is the least I can do to prep.

Does it help to work in London in order to get your story covered in Reuters or Bloomberg? Maybe. Agencies at large tech hubs have obviously made it their business to use proximity as an advantage. Is it necessary? Absolutely not, or a lot of the stories of Bolt in recent years wouldn’t have happened.

Global is a mindset, not a place.

Summary

Do you need agencies for international PR? Not necessarily, but as always, someone has to do the work. If you work in PR yourself and lack the budget to outsource, there are fewer barriers today to do it yourself.

You don’t need to be a native speaker. Most of the times, your international English will do.

You likely have a sufficient sense of your industry or vertical already. Supplement with a bit of homework and you’re able to figure out the angle of your pitch.

Take advantage of networking opportunities online. Use Twitter and/or LinkedIn as a means of creating proximity and relationships.

If you work in PR, you should already know what a good pitch entails. If you don’t, here’s TechCrunch reporter Steve O’Hear teaching how to pitch him, and Sifted’s guidelines to pitching opinion pieces.