Twitter that Pitch: Introducing Pitch140

With a rapidly growing number of media members using Twitter
it's high time we PR pros put the reigns on run-on emails with attached
pdf and word format press releases. Buckle down and dial-in the details
for the most concise pitch of your life- the Twitter Pitch.

I've blogged about the idea of Pitching Media Via Twitter before and how the concept can probably be credited to Stowe Boyd's and his first call for the TwitPitch. the father of PR 2.0, Brian Solis, formalized the TwitPitch with his concept for MicroPR, an innovative approach to submitting and then monitoring using TweetScan or my favorite, Summize. I'm certain Brian has much more to come with the @micropr, so stay tuned for that.

One thing I think Brian left out was the inclusion of a critical link-
the link to your SMR. No need for a clunky email attachment when you
can do Todd Defren proud by delivering a powerful social media release to media in one mouse click.

Why the hype?
I don't think this is result of the "shiny new tool" syndrome. From a
journalists perspective, it could be the best pitch delivery mechanism
of all time. 140 words, that's all you get to get your message across
to media who are using Twitter, and are open to receiving your pitch.

What if they're not using Twitter?
Be the one to open the door and hand them the social media key to the
new universe. I talked about the importance for PR pros to share and
mentor in PR it Forward a couple weeks ago. Take it to heart and spend time teaching for the greater good.

Twitter Pitch Ethics
We've heard the PR spam conversations around the web time and again,
but most of the dialog is around email. Email pitches can be a
nightmare, but the a Twitter Pitch is much less obtrusive. If you're a
tweeter you know what I mean. I personally follow a couple hundred
people. I'm obviously not interested in each comment every person has,
so they just roll-off the page and are replaced by newer, fresher, more
interesting ones (so I like to think). For a journalists there's no
opening, downloading, deleting, etc., A Twitter Pitch comes and goes
like a interview at a trade show, only less tiring. With that said, you
still have to be careful about your approach. I'm a believer that
anyone can screw up a good thing, so take the time to tie-up all the
loose ends. Going to pitch REAL news? Then make sure your press
materials or SMR is ready to go the moment you pitch. Twitter doesn't
change the process, just the method for the pitch.

Here's an example of a recent Twitter Pitch:
@exampleCampingWriter I've got the world's first Propane Coffee Maker coming out in August, 8 cups of goodness. Want some?

Pitch140
Alright, let's see what you've got. Introducing Pitch140, The Best Pitch in PR.
Pitch me via Twitter @pitchengine
and include the hashtag #pitch140, or post it in the comment field
below in less than 140 words. I'll follow up in a couple weeks with the
results and the winner of the first Pitch140 contest. You can monitor
the Pitch140 entries on the homepage of PitchEngine. Good luck!

Original post on PitchEngine