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PRetty in Pittsburgh

On checking out and lack of motivation

It’s been a doozy of a summer. I’ve been living that pandemic summer for three summers now!

  • 2020: COVID was still new.
  • 2021: I had a newborn premie.
  • 2022: I became immunocompromised. Ugh. I won’t go into too much detail but I was diagnosed with a blood disorder in May called ITP where your platelets go way down to dangerous levels. Two hospital stays, three rounds of steroids and many IV treatments later we are still figuring things out. The good news is I feel fine and it’s treatable, but the bad news is the treatment I am on wipes out your immunity so I’ve had to lay low and cancel on a lot of things.

I am not sharing this for sympathy but rather a reminder that the pandemic is still happening and also a reminder to go to your routine doctor appointments and get tests and bloodwork when they are ordered. I would have never known I had this if not for routine bloodwork.

Now that we have that out of the way, the last two+ years have been so weird. If you’ve read this blog for any period of time, you know that I am a type A go-getter. But the last several months I’ve shifted a bit. I am still involved in professional organizations but things like updating this blog, working out at 5:30 a.m., sending out my newsletter and networking have fallen by the wayside. I remember in 2020 people said being stuck at home gave them so much more time to do things like learning a new language. I never understood that.

All this to say, if you’re feeling stuck, or not motivated, embrace it. I miss my pre-pandemic self and world so much, but I can’t even imagine having that schedule now. Yes, I have a one-year-old who is into EVERYTHING right now so that doesn’t help, but a child or not, I look back on a typical work day for myself and I cannot imagine doing it all now. I think the pandemic plus the state of the world makes it OK for us to not be as motivated, and things out of our control like health issues. Plus, no one has been waiting with bated breath for me to drop a new blog post or attend an event, so I think I’m OK. 🤣 As long as my work is done, my child is healthy and happy and we have groceries and toilet paper, then that’s the new way of thriving.

And one final point. Check out of social media every now and then. I love to delete the apps off my phone some weekends to stay away since it’s always my go-to when I am sitting to mindlessly scroll. I have to be on it for work but I don’t have to be on it all the time. And for those Instagram storying their entire honeymoon: please don’t. I love seeing beautiful trip posts, but like, enjoy your trip. I know content is everything, but take photos and videos and share later like the good old days. Aren’t photo dumps still cool? (Also, let’s change that name.)

The good news: we’re entering a new season. Fall and holidays will of course be as fast as the first half of the year, but my fall goals include getting my platelets under control, eating better and doing fun fall things with my family. I also hope to be more consistent with my blog and newsletter, but I am not making any promises because sometimes, a nap is better.

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Five Things Every PR Pro Should Incorporate Into Their Weekly Routine

We hear a lot about routines. CEOs waking up at 5 a.m. and meditating. Executives journaling for the first 20 minutes of their day. And while some mornings I get up early and workout and drink lemon water, other mornings I sleep later and barely throw on leggings. It’s called balance. Even if you don’t get things accomplished first thing, there is a whole day (and week) ahead of you to tackle your to-dos. But in addition to these things to do for your health and wellbeing, there are also things you should add to your professional routine to set you up for success. Here are five things every PR pro should incorporate into their weekly routine.

 

Read the General News

My first PR professor (who I am still in touch with today!) used to give us pop quizzes periodically, asking us what was going on in the news. As someone who was like 19 years old, I had no clue what was happening and honestly didn’t have any interest. But she instilled in us that knowing what was going on in the world would matter in our career. And it does. And this is even more true today.

An essential skill PR pros should have is newsjacking. How can you jack the news if you don’t know what it is? When I used to commute (and now working from home) I listen to morning news (via Alexa or Spotify) and get a rundown that way, and I put on Good Morning America as well. And then I also get news from the daily newsletters I read. I cannot possibly consume everything, but these are a good way to get a gist of what’s happening while I am getting ready. And this is essential to daily. Not to mention, if you run social media for a brand and something is breaking and it’s not appropriate to post, this is a good way to see what’s happening before the day starts and posts go live so you can adjust accordingly. This goes for pitching, too – when something heavy is breaking, I know journalists are busy with that so I pause.

Skim Twitter

I know, I always talk about Twitter 🙂 But it’s essential. I am not even advocating you have to do this every day, but a few times a week take a skim of what journalists are writing about and people are saying here. This not only gives you news, but trending topics which is essential to help craft upcoming pitches or social media content. If you have Twitter lists built, this is even better, as it cuts through the clutter so you can get to what matters.

Engage in Facebook Groups

Speaking of cutting through the clutter. Facebook is a lot of clutter these days with weird family acquaintances and old high school friends posting their expert opinions on everything from COVID vaccines to the crisis in Ukraine to now, aviation safety from watching a Netflix documentary on Boeing. Bunch of experts there! But in all seriousness, I really like Facebook for the group function. I am a member of several groups where I connect with fellow PR pros (Michael Smart’s Facebook group is second to none) as well as journalists. This is a great way to not only connect but learn new things. Huge fan of Facebook groups.

Read Industry News

This is a little redundant with the above, but it’s important to not only understand the media broadly but also your industry. This not only includes the PR industry – but the industry your clients serve. I have had clients in a plethora of industries and used to read things like HVAC News. Understanding what is happening in those industries specifically is so important. And with so many newsletters today, it’s easy to subscribe and skim every morning. And this is also essential to understand things like best practices and how things are evolving, like measurement.

Engage with Media

If you do any type of media relations, engaging with media should be something you do at least weekly. And this again is easy to do within Twitter and Facebook groups. I am not saying to email a journalist for the sake of emailing them (they would hate that!) but I mean things like sharing articles they’ve written on social media and tagging them. You can do this through LinkedIn and Twitter. Tagging them and the outlet helps them see you and show that you are helping them to get eyeballs, which is key. Or, it can be so simple, like commenting on a social post or simply giving it a like. Focusing your time on them should be something you do weekly or even less often depending on how much media relations you are doing. But building relationships take time. And this should definitely be part of your ongoing routine.

What are some of the things every PR pro should incorporate into their weekly routine that I didn’t mention?

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How I’m Working Out Post-Baby: 8-Month Update

I’m not really clear how this happened, but I have an 8-month old. What? It’s been a while since I’ve posted about my workout routine, so I thought I’d share how I am fitting it in at this point. I think the last time I posted, I was about 20 weeks pregnant. Shortly after that, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes (a surprise) and preeclampsia (something I was a bit more predestined to get). Apparently, your placenta is wild and even if you’re as healthy as can be, it can impact having these two conditions. Luckily everything was A-OK and now I have a healthy babe. So thankful. And I was able to work out until about two weeks before I gave birth.

I’m also not sure how long we define postpartum – 6 months? A year? Whenever you decide to stop wearing maternity leggings?

But postpartum, I didn’t work out for about two months. I eventually did some walks after a week or two, but my recovery was a little slow. I won’t go into too much detail but after a quick birth, I had a hematoma (yikes). Pelvic floor physical therapy was awesome, and I slowly worked up to Peloton rides, running and strength.

I finally feel like myself again (it was a slow process but I am glad I didn’t do too much too soon) but there are a lot of factors that come with working out and having a baby or kids (even when you don’t have kids!). Mostly, time and energy. Actually, those are all the factors! But working out is a priority for me. It makes me feel good and healthy and that needs to happen, regardless of the 8 million other things on my plate. Here’s what’s working for me (so far).

Time of Day

Finding time to work out this season of life isn’t always the easiest. You are tired. Especially when babies don’t sleep through the night. Once Carmen got there, it was easier (I still work out in the mornings) but in January she went through a sleep regression where she was getting up around 4:30 or 5 a.m. every morning. Ugh. Getting back down was fairly quick, but by that point, I wanted to sleep a little longer, not work out. She is mostly out of that but still waking up early sometimes. So I just kind of go with what I am feeling. If she gets up at 5:30 and wants to go back to bed, I put her back down and work out. But some mornings I’ll want to sleep until 7 (if she goes back to sleep). Listening to my body is key (and not working out when I am exhausted – sleep is more important). I’ve never been someone to workout 5 or 6 days a week any way. 3-4 is much more reasonable.

Other times, I fit in a quick workout during the day. Working from home makes this way more attainable, but I also need to fit in work while I have childcare, so I only do this sometimes. And if Peloton has a particularly good live ride, I will work out at night.

Duration of Workouts

I used to put in at least 30-45 minutes for a workout. But now, sometimes I can only fit 15-20 minutes. And that’s fine! A lot of mornings I go down to my basement and do cardio for 20 minutes. And then if baby is still asleep, I’ll put on a 10-minute strength class. That’s why I love Peloton – they have a lot of different workout lengths. And they finally have a pause button!

Also, I try to get out and walk when I can. Having a dog helps, since I take him out every day at lunch and go for a walk. And now that the weather will be getting better soon and it’s lighter longer, I can them both for a walk after work.

Making Baby Part of the Routine

I’ve attempted to bring Carmen to the basement with me while I am on the Peloton or treadmill. I put her in her activity center so she stays occupied. She lasts about 20 minutes so this is a good option when my husband can’t watch her. But I also like to make time just for me, so I’ve only done this a handful of times and prefer to work out when she is asleep. And if I am doing a quick stretch, I just do it on the ground next to her and then do some bodyweight with her! She is getting heavy and that’s a workout in itself. And the best part! A friend gave me her old jogging stroller (a BOB in excellent condition) and it’s great. Now that she’s big enough we’ve been doing walks in it and once the weather gets better more consistently, will be going out for stroller runs. Excited to come full circle after running through pregnancy now running with baby! Excited to do the Pittsburgh Marathon 5K and relay in May.

Making Time For Classes Again

Since the pandemic started two (ugh) years ago, I stopped going to classes. I do miss them but having a treadmill, weights and a Peloton bike in my basement is so helpful. Pandemic or not, this is helpful now that my time is even more limited with a baby. But I have slowly started to go back to barre classes when I can. A random weekend or day off, and then I try to go once a week or every other week to a 6 a.m. class. Not the easiest since my sleep is less these days, but it’s good to go and be with people again. And it’s an easier class to wear a mask to. I still choose to wear a mask out in public (until cases get lower) so it doesn’t bother me at all here. If I was going to Orange Theory I would say no way to a mask in that workout. But it’s good to be getting back to classes in a small way. Looking forward to going back to hot yoga eventually, too. I did it for years and it will be good to get back to for stress relief.

Working out on top of working, caring for a baby, a house and a dog is not easy, but again, making health a priority is key for me. Luckily I WANT to work out and it’s a great way to stay healthy and beat stress. But if some weeks I skip all together or only get out to walk the dog, that’s completely OK. Either way, it shows my daughter how important it is. A win-win all around.

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Why Every PR Pro Needs to Engage With Journalists on Twitter

I joined Twitter in September 2008 (!!) according to my bio. Twitter has always been the non-loved social media channel. People jumped on Instagram. Fell in love with TikTok. Remember Vine? They were all over it. But Twitter? People who were non-believers always said they didn’t “get” it or never found the value. But I have always been here to say it’s my favorite. Which may be another post for another time. I recently had a fun Twitter conversation with fellow Pittsburgh “tweeps” as we used to say “back in the day.” Social media day, that is. Talking about how many great connections we’ve made there and still do today. But every PR pro needs to engage with journalists on Twitter to add to those connections.

All that to say, a lot of PR people have given up on or not used Twitter but to me, they are missing out on a huge opportunity: media relations. Now I am not saying you need to full-blown pitch media on Twitter. That would be weird. Some say their DMs are open or ask for pitches so by all means do that when that happens. But I am talking about engaging with journalists in a natural, conversational way (that has nothing to do with your pitch). Here’s a look at what I do.

Start With a List

One of my favorite Twitter features is Twitter lists. Instagram, I beg of you for this so I can keep track of influencers better! I’ve been curating Twitter lists for years, and it’s such a great way to save journalists in one easy list to weed out your timeline. For example, I had a previous medical client so I had one main list of national health reporters, and then when we needed to target media just in their city, I made one that was specific to that city. When I was heavily pitching something, I simply scrolled and checked in every morning to see if there was opportunity to engage. And, when it was just “business as usual” I made a point to do this several times a month at least. Which brings me to my next point…

Engage When You Don’t Need To

They say the best time to build your network is when you don’t need it. The same is true for Twitter. People will see right through you if all of a sudden you start blowing them up on Twitter and then – boom – a pitch is in their inbox. Following and liking some tweets is a great start, and find some commonality. Are they talking about watching the new “And Just Like That” and you have some thoughts to share? Send a reply. Retweet some interesting articles of theirs. Be genuine, and they’ll start to take notice.

One other tip here: sometimes I RT journalists looking for sources when I can’t help them. Maybe it’s something not having to do with what I am pitching, but I share it out to my network (a lot of PR pros). Or, I help connect them with sources. This is extra work for you but it’s SO helpful for them and a great way to establish that relationship.

Tweet the News

So you scored a placement…congratulations. Next is to share, share, share. Tweet it and tag the journalist and the outlet – from your personal account and company account. Do the same on LinkedIn. That’s a great and easy way to get visibility. Not to mention, you are helping garner more eyeballs on their story. That’s something that is VERY important for them now more than ever.

Ragan’s PR Daily put out a similar article not too long about about engaging with journalists on social media. All good tips. I’d also like to add that Facebook Groups are another great way to connect with journalists. I am in a few where journalists are sharing what they are working on and looking for sources (one woman even puts out a weekly newsletter talking about what she’s looking for – score) so that’s a super easy way to show how valuable of a resource you are.

Finally, don’t be creepy. If someone tweeted seven years ago something about their dog, don’t bring it up in an email pitch like a weirdo. There’s a way to be personable but also when it comes to the actual email pitch, be short and sweet. Twitter is where you can be more fun. Every PR pro needs to engage with journalists on Twitter as part of their media relations strategy.

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There’s Magic in the DMs

Direct messages a.k.a. DMs can be a scary place sometimes. Lots of odd robotic “collab” requests. Weird men saying “hello, beautiful,” and much more. For influencers, I am sure there are a lot of hateful messages as well. I once DMd an influencer because she said “um” before every frame in her story and it drove me nuts. But then I realized there is no good to come of that and quickly deleted it.

There are not *too* many stats out there on these conversations because they are private. But I was able to find that one in every five organic stories gets a direct message. And I’m sure that number multiplies per follower count.

So what’s the point?

The point is, there can be magic in the DMs.

Instagram DM

Sure, feed posts get a lot of traction, but I know personally when I post something in my stories that people feel strongly about, I get a ton of responses. Maybe it’s a heart eyes emoji when I share a photo of my cute baby daughter. Or a laughing emoji when I share a relatable TikTok or Reel. I remember last winter when I was pregnant and shared a question whether or not to get the owelet sock (a very polarizing baby product), I had SO many responses. And lots of advice on other baby products. It was overwhelming that I didn’t ask a public question again on baby products. I’ll stick to texting a few trusted friends. But that’s not to say I wasn’t grateful.

There are so many conversations going on behind the scenes that we don’t see. We work with influencers at my company, and they share screenshots of story metrics on campaigns we work with them on so we can track them for reporting, and sometimes we get some gems that share actual DMs/conversations. Here, followers may share important information we can relay to our client like how informative their story was or even intent to purchase. I know these conversations are meant to be private, but I wish there was more data on the DMs that Instagram would share (not necessarily the messages themselves but how many).

The DMs are a place where authentic, one-on-one conversations are taking place in social media. People are relating to each other, sharing information and connecting. While we can’t all see what’s going on or how many messages are being shared, this is where the magic happens.

What are your thoughts? Slide into my DMs.

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