rapid response public relationsWhen news breaks, reporters typically seek experts to explain a news event or issue in layman’s terms. They need to find an expert quickly. The PR team that acts early in pitching experts to reporters typically wins the media coverage.

Rapid response is an immensely useful pitching technique for PR teams. The tactic enables PR to present to reporters their company’s or client’s reactions to breaking news, secures high-volume media coverage with better positioning in the news source (often Page 1 or lead business page) than typical business articles. Effective rapid response positions company executives as authorities and helps form better relationships with reporters who will appreciate the PR team’s efforts to provide an expert source quickly. In the future, those reporters will almost certainly keep the company in mind for expert reactions to news stories. The reporters will also likely be more receptive to PR pitches about the company itself and its products.

Preparation and quick reaction are the crucial steps in identifying and locating spokespeople and in scheduling media interviews. You’re already too late if you wait for news to break to begin searching for experts and preparing pitches.

For a successful rapid response, PR veterans recommend:

Prepare your experts. Build a list of experts within your organization, their areas of expertise and contact information, and a list of themes and proposals. Be prepared to coordinate a brief phone interview or send an approved statement by email. The background, knowledge base and reputation of experts are crucial to obtaining media attention, as reporters seek expertise relevant to that day’s news story. The expert’s work history before being employed at your company may be important.

Approved quotes. Have your experts approve a quote of just a few sentences in advance, in case they cannot be swiftly located that day. Preparing quotes and company response before the news breaks allows you to respond quickly, without needing to scramble to locate your experts. Although preparing responses to particular events may not be possible, your company can prepare general statements in advance. Ideally, however, comments should be specific to the particular news event and offer information or opinion that no one else has yet shared with the media.

Research. Gather surveys or other research your organization has completed and have them ready to forward to reporters. “Journalists love any report that can contribute further validation on the subject matter. When the coverage finally appears, the data findings will be attributed to your company,” advises Laura Scalley, senior account executive at MSLGROUP.

Know when not to pitch. Death and disasters frequently dominate the news. Your company and products may not be relevant to events that involve such tragedies. “As a PR person, I’ve seen countless examples of reporters publicly blasting PR pros or companies for jumping on lives lost to make a buck,” says Amanda Munro, vice president at Shift Communications. “The reputational risk for the PR agency and the client far exceeds the benefit of possibly being quoted in an article.”

Monitor publications. Identify key publications that are relevant to your company’s or your client’s business and monitor and read them frequently. Pay particular attention to interesting stories that are relevant to your business. “Over time, you’ll gain a better signal of what types of stories the client likes to comment on and their perspectives on these topics, so you can fine-tune your approach,” says Molly Strong at Communique PR.

Closely monitor key players. Monitoring announcements from key players in your niche allows you to be ahead of the curve. It’s even possible to find news before major outlets have reported it. “It may take time to iron out the kinks, but it’s worth creating a process for monitoring, flagging, and pitching relevant news,” Strong says.

Use a media monitoring service. PR teams that employ a media monitoring service have an advantage. Besides finding information that free tools miss, subscription services organize media clips in an online database that is much more efficient than attempting to manage separate database files. Some subscription monitoring services provide customizable dashboards and media measurement data that can reveal important insights.

Use multiple pitching channels. Reporters working on a major news story against deadline are often difficult to reach. Effective rapid response pitching requires using every means possible to reach out to reporters and make your expert opinion pitch. That includes phone with succinct voice-mail pitch, email and direct contact on Twitter or other social media. Always leave contact information for both yourself and your expert.

Bottom Line: Rapid response pitching can be a successful tactic for obtaining extensive media coverage, building rapport with journalists, and establishing your company executives as experts in their fields. However, the strategy requires PR to prepare their experts in advance, closely monitor the media and react quickly to developing news.