A Storytime About Why Social Media Is Important And Lots Of Opps! Free For All To Read
Don't make this mistake. Trust me.
Happy Thursday!
Greetings from East Hampton! Let’s get into it.
This newsletter is LONG, open, and has tons of opps. A lesson, a rant, what I’m looking for right now for Forbes and SO MUCH REAL SIMPLE. If you’re a designer, pro organizer, or pro cleaner, YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS OUT.
A Bunch Of Plugs For Myself (Then Lots Of Free Stuff)
Want more? Just starting? Need extra help? Here’s a shameless plug for additional PR services I offer.
(IF NOT, SCROLL DOWN TO A VERY HOT PR TAKE)
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Why Social Media Is Crucial for Long-Term Relationships in PR: Sharing Is Caring
Storytime! Grab a matcha! I’ve got a good one for you.
In 2019, I did an interview for Forbes with a big influencer who had a line of decor at a major department store (Not Cupcakes and Cashmere, but that’s a good guess…). She was pretty and well-curated, but for the life of me—I could not find her to be interesting at all. What a snore this girl was! She had over a million followers then (now 1.5 million on IG), so lots of people liked her. I literally couldn’t wait to get off the phone with her. That said, she had no idea I wasn’t into her at all.
Anyway…
When the article went live, she didn’t share it. No IG story with a swipe-up as we called it in those days, no tag. NOTHING! I was really turned off by this. Years later, I am still thinking about why she didn’t share it. And yes, I shared it twice.
In retrospect, it could have been an oversight. But her team should have known better, which is why I’m sharing this with you.
Here’s why everyone needs to share their press coverage on social media and why it’s important.
What most people don’t realize is that:
(WARNING: I’M GOING TO DIGRESS FOR A MINUTE AND SPEAK VERY GENERALLY HERE) Writers are painfully underpaid. I cannot emphasize this enough. I know very few writers who could survive without some other job or another person financially supporting them. One of my close friends was an A-list journalist in a previous career, and she told me a MAJOR PUBLICATION paid her $4000 for a story that got killed. This was probably 15 years ago. Could be 20 years ago. Either way…She didn’t even have to write the article, and they paid her what was probably 2 months of rent at the time. Those days are over.
Anyway…
Back to how this has to do with sharing…Some websites give traffic bonuses. When you share an article, it helps. Even if there isn’t a bonus, when an article does well, we may get more assignments from a publication. Everyone is trying to grow their social media accounts. Sharing helps with reach and engagement. Even if you don’t have a huge reach or a lot of followers, something is always better than nothing. It’s also a great way to form long-term relationships with writers.
I’ve connected with so many people and brands on Instagram and have featured them multiple times in different publications. I’ve even become IRL friends with quite a few of these people.
Whether someone writes about paint colors or aerospace, all writers want to find people, sources, and brands to have relationships with. While knowing how to be a good source is a skill I can go over in another newsletter (blog? Substack? You get it…), the easiest way to form relationships with someone is to share when you are featured in an article they write, follow them, and then engage with their account.
I highly suggest anyone pitching themselves also watch writers' stories when they can because you never know when they’ll post that they might need a source. Also, like and comment on their posts because it’s a great way to remind them you exist without being pushy or pitching yourself.
In terms of sharing, you don’t have to do an in-feed post (I get it, we don’t want to mess up the grid), but it’s not a big deal to take five minutes and post a story, tag them, and link to it. It doesn’t matter if you have 5 followers or 5 million. I encourage publicists to do this all the time, even with big brands. If you aren’t a great graphic designer, Canva is free, and they have tons of templates. You’re welcome.
Oh, and a note to publicists: it’s also nice if you share the link from your company’s stories or even your personal account. I understand it’s not always possible to do this for every article, but if it’s a big feature in a top-tier publication, you probably should. It certainly can’t hurt.
Another thing I’ve seen publicists do is screenshot all the roundups their clients have been featured in and create an album post. This is really useful for beauty and fashion. It’s also a great way for potential clients to see the publications where current clients are featured or publications you have connections to. You can get your intern to do this.
The Long Term…
PR is a long-term game (again, that topic will be a whole different post). So, back to that big influencer. She opened up/invested in a commercial business. I actually think it's a great business and something I’d want to cover. IF LITERALLY ANYONE ELSE WAS INVOLVED IN IT…
But when I was pitched, I simply didn’t respond. I hoped this publicist wouldn’t follow up. LITERALLY PRAYED FOR NO FOLLOW-UP. But, of course, she did. So, I decided to be completely honest and tell her what happened and why I couldn’t be covering this venture. It was so ridiculously on-brand for me too. I really thought about it, but I was so turned off. The rep said that it wouldn’t happen again. But the damage was done.
I don’t think not sharing a story ALWAYS ruins relationships, but I think connecting on social media is an easy, free, and pretty painless way to build long-term relationships for anyone pitching themselves or clients. If you have a big following and aren’t sharing your press on social media, you are potentially missing out on future press.
And if for some reason you or the brand isn’t on Instagram (Great for makeup, probably not so much for aerospace engineers), use LinkedIn. Or Twitter (or X, what are we calling it these days?) Even Facebook…
SO WHAT’S THE LESSON HERE? SHARING IS CARING! YOU LEARNED IT IN KINDERGARTEN.
ALSO FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM!
That said, I recently interviewed Danielle Carolan about her apartment for Forbes. She has a huge platform and a big podcast. She did an in-feed post as well as story. She followed me. If her team pitches another tour of her new apartment, of course, I’ll say yes. She was also lovely to talk to. Amanda Frances did the same thing a few months ago as well.
If those people and Bethenny Frankel and Kathy Hilton can share, so can you or your client.
A Few Notes On Forbes
I really love doing celeb/influencer house tours or room tours, especially nursery tours. Here are some “dream” interviews. If you can make this happen, I’d be grateful. Also, this list will probably surprise you.
Trisha Paytas
HRH Collection (IYKYK)
Any of the Oshry Sisters
Arielle Lorre (I know she is currently renovating her home)
Kelly Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne
Bert Kreischer (I feel like it would be a very memorable tour)
What I’m Working On For Real Simple
Please send responses to AmandaLauren212@gmail.com with the subject and word Substack (I want to see who emails me from here)
Viral TikTok Cleaning Products That Are a Waste of Money, According to Pro Cleaners (Would love by Tuesday AM EST)
Would love to hear from pro cleaners about this.
Things You Should Never Store in the Bathroom (Would love by Tuesday AM EST)
What shouldn’t you store in a bathroom?
Where should you put it instead?
Would love to hear from pro organizers.
Things To Declutter Over Labor Day Weekend (Would love by Wednesday AM EST)
What are some good things to throw out over Labor Day Weekend?
Would love to hear from pro organizers.
Things Every Bathroom Needs (Would love by Wednesday AM EST)
From a design standpoint. Think: The bathroom version of this.
https://www.realsimple.com/things-every-bedroom-needs-8658354
What are the essential design elements of a bathroom?
THANK YOU.
If you have topics you want to discuss or questions, please share in the comments!