August 19th, 2008
PitchEngine revs up public beta, puts the social in PR
Last week I wrote about how bloggers could better work with public relations folks. While I won’t to get into the habit of writing about PR I think we’d all agree that, like it or not, there’s a direct correlation between it and social media, especially when we’re talking about business strategies. Before I silence myself on the matter, let me introduce PitchEngine. It’s the first service I’ve seen that provides simplicity for social media savvy PR people need and potential relief for media who need to reduce their inundation of unsolicited pitches.
PitchEngine, which already has more than 300 brands in its alpha, opens up for public beta and introduces its Social Media Newsroom, both this week. What does it do? There are three key features thus far:
- Social Media Release Builder — PR pros can build SMRs with a very quick tool that allows for publishing via the PitchEngine site as well as in an iframe on a corporate site. These releases can be posted directly to Twitter, FriendFeed and Facebook from within the actual SMR and can include multimedia.
- Social Media Newsroom — Automates the corporate newsroom development and maintenance process.
- PitchFeed — Allows bloggers / reporters to choose which pitches they will receive based on a customized RSS (it even allows the media to block brands that might be spamming them).
Admittedly, I have been skeptical in the past regarding SMRs as I worried that, if mishandled, they would further the divide between media and PR (and, let’s face it, nothing beats relationships). But PitchEngine is doing just the opposite by bridging the gap with its innovative approach to SMR distribution and pitch management. Wanting to dig a little bit more into the service, I interviewed founder Jason Kintzler.
Q. [Jennifer] How do you see this competing with the offerings of PR Newswire, Business Wire, Marketwire, etc. Or is it complementary?
A. [Jason] Since we don’t provide distribution (at least not the same form), I don’t see us as competing. While those services offer varying forms of social media integration, our goal is to be more of a tool for PR firms and brands. The social aspects are superior already — direct tweets from within the SMRs, and the ability to “follow” a brand on Twitter from the release is pretty innovative. I’m also guessing that “free” is a bit cheaper than those services as well.
Q. How do you plan to monetize this as a PR tool?
A. People think it’s crazy, but the Social Media Release Builder aspect of PitchEngine is a free service and I plan it to keep it that way. This week, as we roll out public beta, we’ll be offering a customizable newsroom feature. Since PitchEngine SMRs are active for 30-days once created, users who subscribe to the service will be able to host and archive their SMRs in these newsrooms. Each newsroom is hosted by us, but mapped from your corporate Web site for a more seamless feel for journalists and consumers visiting your site. The subscription fee will start out at $600/yr per brand.
Q. How about as a tool for media?
A. This side of PitchEngine will be a free service as well. Media are inundated with “spam” pitches sent via traditional methods. Everyone keeps telling me there is NO way to cut out spam. They may be right, but we’re sure going to put a huge dent in it. Media users will set up a personalized page within the site by simply answering a couple questions — they will then be provided with a PitchFeed (RSS/SMR feed) specific to their industry, news beat, etc. Media users will be able to filter content in their custom PitchFeed, even be able to accept/deny pitches from specific brands outside of their feed. If a blogger is using this service, it becomes increasingly harder for them to get spammed.
Q. With Reg FD requirements now satisfied with corporate blogs, do you think companies will pay for SMRs when they can simply post content in their blog? Or is there a connection between what you are doing and the corporate blog?
A. Posting press content to a blog doesn’t necessarily make it easier for a PR person to deliver all the content and assets for media to do their job well. It’s definitely easier for bloggers (no need for high res images), but that’s still just a piece of the puzzle. I believe having a consistent format will be an advantage for PitchEngine. Media want, and perhaps more importantly, need this to be easy. Stepping into a more social form of media relations will take some coaxing, the majority of media and PR aren’t there yet. I think this will be an easier, more friendly transition for the industry. It’s not going to solve everyone’s problems, but it can certainly take some of the guesswork and out of it.
Next: What is the Social Media Newsroom? –>
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Jennifer Leggio, aka "Mediaphyter," writes about the "social business" side of social media - including enterprise, security and reputation issues. See her full profile and disclosure of her industry affiliations.
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| 08/19/08
