Q&A: Shattering PR Stereotypes with One of PRSourceCode’s Top Tech Pr Pros

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This week, Text 100’s own Julia Graham was named a Top Tech PR Pro in PRSourceCode’s annual Top Tech Communicators awards. What’s particularly cool about this award is that it comes from the editors and bloggers at the IT and business publications like InformationWeek, eWeek and Network World that Julia works with everyday.

We were thrilled, but not surprised to see Julia on the list. She’s built some fantastic relationships with the media and secured great coverage for her clients as a result. On the heels of this honor, Julia shares her tips on how to shatter PR stereotypes and become a trusted resource:

Q: What advice do you have for building strong relationships?
Read their work, Be Responsive and Be Realistic. It’s no secret that clients can be demanding and have high expectations, but I don’t see the benefit in stalking or harassing a reporter every hour on the hour simply to pressure them to they cover an announcement about a customer win. Managing expectations with your clients beforehand goes a long way to saving yourself, and reporters, a lot of stress.   

Julia Graham (right) and Elise Kohen welcome press to Text 100's sneak peek holiday tech event

Q: What should PR pros know about tech reporters/bloggers?
The reporters I work with are very tech savvy, They can (and enjoy) rattle off every single detail about a server from its processor speed to the number of cores it has to whether or not it supports high speed I/O or SSDs…confused yet? My job is to help paint the bigger picture by answering “What’s the significance of this news?” and connecting them with the executive who works with those products day in and day out. They also appreciate special treatment (who doesn’t?) so anytime you can offer an exclusive customer story or a data center tour, they’ll respect you for that.

Q: How did you learn what works? What mistakes have you made?
It’s not in my nature to be the ‘used-cars’ salesman type PR person that most people who aren’t in the profession assume we are. I try to ensure my contacts have access to the executives they want to talk to and make sure to keep them updated on a regular basis, differentiating between what’s simply an FYI and what is truly ground-breaking. I’ve certainly had my fair share of reporters hang up on me and I’ve even had a reporter post my pitch on his blog simply for informing him of a client that won an award from a company that, as luck would have it, wasn’t doing too well financially. After taking a deep breath, I make a note and move on.

Q: What role does social media play in your job? In building relationships?
Social media is a great way to get your foot in the door with reporters you may not have had a chance to interact with before. You can also see each reporter’s personality shine through, something that isn’t always that easy to gauge over email. Using tools like Twitter, I’ve been able to discover opportunities for clients that have turned into stories while also finding ways to relate to media on a more personal level – once you see them “Tweeting” about their son scoring a goal at a soccer game or how angry they get when they sit in traffic, they immediately become human, which for me takes off the pressure of needing to sound perfect when you reach out to them.

Julia in the Rocky Horror Show