Lesson for PR pros from J.C. Penney SEO report: Watch what you write when you pitch
As a guy who spends a fair amount of time helping clients create content that is optimized to show up as high as possible in search-engine results pages, the New York Times’ recent report on J.C. Penney and its astonishingly high search rankings was quite interesting. As a guy who spends also spends a fair amount of time on media relations and pitching stories for clients, I found a small detail in the report that stood out far more than any other.
The report on JCP’s search-engine optimization efforts includes the following bit as part of an examination of how those SEO efforts might have contributed to the retailer’s booming holiday-season sales:
Exactly how many of those visits translate into sales, and the size of each sale, only Penney would know.
But in January, the company was crowing about its online holiday sales. Kate Coultas, a company spokeswoman, wrote to a reporter in January, “Internet sales through jcp.com posted strong growth in December, with significant increases in traffic and orders for the key holiday shopping periods of the week after Thanksgiving and the week before Christmas.”
The emphasis there is mine. Here’s how I read that: That line from the spokeswoman — especially considering the way it’s introduced in this article — feels like something that was written in a pitch to a reporter. Probably a pitch to a marketing or advertising reporter in which the spokeswoman was hoping to get a little ink (who are we kidding — I’m sure her boss asked for the front page and a segment on Oprah) about her company’s great holiday sales figures.
In this case, the quote this reporter yoinked from that pitch letter included nothing embarrassing for the spokeswoman. It was just used in a less than ideal context. But reading it in this report makes me recall some things I’ve put in pitches that I hope never show up in the Times. Nothing really bad — just stuff that would be awkward or less than ideal if it showed up in public. Sometimes you write those pitches as though you’re having just having a casual conversation — but you have to remember you’re having that conversation with a reporter.
I’m sure anyone who’s spent time working on media relations programs has had a reporter or a blogger publish a bit of information you never really thought you’d see published — or reprint an entire pitch e-mail because it’s quicker and easier than writing an original article. It happens, but it doesn’t happen often enough to stay on top of your mind with each new pitch you write.
But it needs to stay on top of your mind. You need to watch what you write. Don’t put it in the e-mail unless you’d be comfortable seeing it in the paper.
