Stop following this PR advice, readers say

There’s a lot of conventional wisdom out there.

And a lot of that wisdom is outdated or just plain bad.

I asked my LinkedIn community to share the PR practice they think people should stop doing. More than 150 people chimed in with their hot takes.

Here’s what they said, lightly edited for brevity and style.

Measurement and reporting advice

Matt Burns is managing partner of Acumen Strategies.

Anyone using “impressions” to measure PR efficacy should have their professional communicator card revoked for malfeasance. Not a single CEO knows or cares what those data mean, and using them with pie charts that your vendors cook up actually undermines your credibility as a serious business leader.

APR accreditation is a red flag. Right or wrong, many comms leaders take a hard pass on candidates who tout that credential on their resumes.

Leah M. Dergachev is founder at Austley.

“Always send your pitch to as many journalists as possible to increase your chances of coverage.”

The old “spray and pray” approach might sound like a good idea — more emails = more opportunities — but that’s not the reality. Instead, this can lead to burning bridges with journalists who see your outreach as spam. It can dilute your message because you’re not tailoring it to the right beat, angle or outlet. Also, you run the risk of hurting your credibility.

Alvaro Bendrell is director of digital communications at Enel North America.
Deliver quantitative reports only to “prove” PR impact can be measured.

Wrong. You can’t pretend to show PR impact without qualitative analysis just because it’s easier to explain to your leadership. Plus, numbers and even percentages are the easiest way to make up bad performance — and one day you’ll be caught. You have to educate your leadership from the start on how PR works so you don’t sabotage your own efforts and so you earn credibility in the long run.

Media outreach

Ben Haber is EVP at Racepoint Global.
“Issue the press release over [insert name] wire and select the national distribution.” It’s expensive and that money could be much better spent.

Domenica D’Ottavio is director of public relations at Journey Further.

Including “everything a journalist could need or ask for” in the initial outreach email.

Sending lengthy emails, attachments, or external links to Dropbox or Google Drive in the initial outreach email is a sure way to land in spam or be ignored, especially if the writer doesn’t know you.

Send a text-only, short-and-sweet email with just the essentials relevant to that particular journalist, and if they want more information, they’ll reply. It’s better for relationship building, too.

Anna Julow Roolf is SVP of PR at Mod Op.
“Just pick up the phone and call.”

Sure, there’s a time and a place to make a call, but to follow up on your email pitch just isn’t it.

Andrew Petro is account director at Matter Communications.

When I was coming up in PR, it was often suggested to occasionally ask reporters or “friendlies,” “What are you working on?” as a relationship builder. Maybe that worked once, but definitely not anymore. Reporters get pitched nonstop and don’t have time for generic questions. Instead, do your homework, know their beat, and come to them with something valuable to say.

Bill Byrne is interim director of PR at Skullcandy.

When a potential partner asks about, or an agency brags about, relationships. Anyone skilled in media relations knows it takes a lot more than being friends with a journalist to land coverage.

Michelle Holford is vice president of global public relations at Cognite.

Don’t flatter journalists by admiring a story they wrote in an attempt to secure coverage. Be authentic, do your research and find the right fit. Don’t be performative. Be true.

Cassaundra Kalba is account director of Society22 PR.

Scheduling automatic follow-ups to a pitch, rather than strategically crafting a follow-up when there is a development in the story or fresh value to add to the story.

Katie Grant is senior content writer at Matter Communications.

Honestly? Pulling from commentary banks. This is a very hot take, but every new opportunity deserves new commentary — not repurposed old commentary.

Anya Nelson is SVP, public relations practice lead at Scratch Marketing + Media.
That you need to personalize your media pitches, especially if it’s pitches about hard news. It’s not a terrible best practice per se, and in many cases it helps build a connection or relationship. But I prefer to get straight to the point when I’m pitching. Leave the personalization (justifying why you’re reaching out to that specific reporter) for softer and longer-lead pitches.

Allison Bowers is co-founder of Willow PR.
That PR is all about relationships — “just take reporters to lunch and coverage will follow.”

Relationships help, of course they do. But they’re worthless without a strong, relevant story. Journalists aren’t handing out media hits like party favors just because they like you — they need newsworthy, well-timed, well-packaged ideas. Charm never replaces substance.

Crisis and legal guidance

Andrew Rossow, Esq is founder and CEO of AR Media Consulting.

“No comment.”

As a lawyer, journalist and crisis management consultant, the traditional “no comment” practice has been like nails on a chalkboard each time I read it or hear it. It’s damaging to you, your client and the market you serve.

When you or your client are approached by a reporter, the last thing you want to do is communicate your silence. Traditionally, the “play it safe” rule of going on the record simply to state “no comment” will always backfire, no matter how compelling your reasoning. This not only leaves your client vulnerable, but you as their advocate, as that silence is highly likely to be filled by the court of public opinion, competitors, etc.

I’ve actively encouraged clients to shift away from this archaic practice and consider a more thoughtful and prompt response.

Tara McDonagh is a communications consultant.

“Never go off the record” or “on background” is just wrong. You can and should with the right reporters and the right complex story. But you need to ensure that you have that first — the reporter you can trust and the complex story that requires this approach. And of course, know the difference.

Jeff Chatterton is a crisis communications consultant.

“Every business needs a crisis communications plan.”

That’s advice from someone who’s going to charge a huge premium to sell templated content at a huge markup.

A crisis plan is static, easy to ignore and useless if it’s on fire.

Samantha Villegas is principal consultant at Raftelis.

I don’t think every brand has to be on social media. And many orgs should not be on social media, especially if they don’t have the courage to be real, interesting or entertaining. Some are just there spitting nonsense or noise into the ether and wondering why they haven’t built brand equity.

Interview and media engagement

Soren Hottenstein is a freelance writer.

For media interviews, “pack the call” is one I’ll never get behind. I’ve had PR reps try to invite me to interviews with five or six people present, most of them just “listening in.” It’s not only unnecessary, it’s counterproductive.

One-on-one chats (plus one HR or PR rep if needed) build trust and candor, especially when the call is recorded and shared with the comms team afterward anyway. More bodies in the (virtual) room means less openness — and sometimes, no interview at all.

Kevin Richardson is COO and partner at Disrupt PR.

“Always stick to the talking points… never deviate.”

On paper, this sounds safe. But in reality, it can make spokespeople sound robotic, evasive and disconnected from the moment. Journalists and audiences can smell a canned answer a mile away. When every response sounds rehearsed, you lose authenticity — which is the very thing that builds trust and credibility.

Jacob Streiter is vice president at Rosen Group.

“Follow your gut.” This is bad advice, especially for young or inexperienced PR pros. The idea isn’t to blindly follow your gut, but to strengthen it, as well as your ability to discern when to follow it versus when not to. Decision-making and intuition are cultivated through time, experience and making mistakes — lots of them. As a general rule, the more mistakes you make (and learn from), the sharper your gut becomes.

Felix Wolf is public relations manager at the Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund.

That if only we can get that one headline in that one big newspaper, all will be well.

No. That might get you some publicity for a day or two, then people move on. Persistence is key. I’d rather have a consistent flow of good stories and headlines in a bunch of smaller publications than that one big national story followed by a lot of nothing.