Thursday, October 17, 2019
Pitch More Research In Less Time with Â鶹´«Ã½ Research Alert
How long does it take your office to write an 800-word press release? Some members have said the entire process can take 2-3 days, with time needed for interviewing the investigator, getting sign-off from higher-ups, proofreading, and checking all the science. The time it takes to do a formal press release is one of the top reasons why Â鶹´«Ã½ members tell us they have to “pick and choose” what research they try to promote.
These time delays are also the top reason we hear that PIOs aren’t pitching more research news under embargo. “We get notified last minute,” they say. But waiting until after the embargo lifts to promote research news correlates to lower pickup - with research news pitched under embargo getting almost 50% more coverage!
Reporters respond to embargoes and they want more options, not fewer. By picking and choosing, your news judgment can be spot-on for really big news, but what about all those niche publications, trade magazines, and reporters with specific interests? What if your news judgment was off about a study you gave a pass? Sadly, there just aren’t enough hours in the day and science writers on your team to write a full press release about everything.
But what if all that time was suddenly taken out of the equation? Wouldn’t you promote more research news if it was easier and more efficient?
That’s the idea behind Research Alert, launched over the summer, to give our members an option to do more research pitches in less time. It’s quick, there are fewer required fields, and there is no minimum length or format. We just recommend a good headline, a paragraph summarizing the findings, contact for media to request an interview, and a link or download of the study.
See what some members have already done with Research Alert under Sections > Research Alert.
Recommendations for Research Alert
- •Do a quick Research Alert pitch as soon as your faculty tells you about their journal study, then follow it up with a full press release later
- •Do Research Alerts on smaller studies that represent niche topics or gradual progress in the science to save yourself time while still promoting those studies
- •Use language from the study abstract and summary, so you can be sure that the science is accurate and you don’t have to spend time writing original copy
- •Provide links and downloads of the paper so reporters can go dig into the details themselves
- •Give reporters instructions and details for how they can interview your expert, including info on your campus studio capabilities or a sample video of them speaking on any topic
Now get out there and start alerting reporters to your research! To submit a Research Alert, go to Tools > Contribute Content > Contribute Â鶹´«Ã½ Release and then select Research Alert from the options of article types. Or just click here.
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