contentious.com

(NOTE: This is part 3 of a a 10-part series. Index to this series.)

In my previous article, I probably made it sound like there is no greater sin in the realm of online media outreach than to neglect to give individual, direct contact information for each of your organization’s press officers.

Well, there is. That deadly sin is to make a journalist’s only means of contacting your organization a web-based form.

Here’s why that’s such a big problem…

THE BLACK HOLE PERCEPTION

In all relationships, including professional contacts, perceptions and the impressions they generate influence interactions to a surprising degree. That’s just human nature. The way that people or organizations go about inviting contact from the press, or from anyone, sends a strong message about:

• How sincerely they desire contact
• How open, cooperative, responsive, or competent they are likely to be when communication is initiated.

When offered alone, with no other communication options (such as phone or e-mail, preferably for specific individuals), web-based forms send some very, very negative messages:

• We don’t care about what you want or need. Our primary concern is making things easier for ourselves.
• We don’t want to give you our e-mail address or phone number.
• That’s because we really don’t want to hear from you.
• Or, we may be a disreputable, fly-by-night, or sham organization
• We consider you a potential enemy or pest, until proven otherwise.
• Keep your distance until we decide whether you merit even a minimal expenditure of our attention and energy – or whether we’d risk too much exposure by talking to you.
• If you want to contact us, you literally must fit your question into our box.

…Now do I honestly believe that these are the messages that some organizations really wish to communicate to journalists? Generally, no. (Although occasionally, yes.) Rather, I believe that most organizations that take this approach don’t realize how negative the implicit messages of a web-based form are – especially to journalists, who tend to be attuned to the nuances of communication.

This is most commonly a gaffe born of ignorance – or at least, mistaken assumptions. For some audiences and some kinds of inquiries, web-based forms make a lot of sense. But not for journalists who are working on deadline stories.

To journalists on deadline, a web-based form looks like a black hole. They expect that once they press “submit” (another unfortunately common choice of words) their request slips below the organization’s event horizon, never to emerge.

That expectation is important. It means that – no matter how well-intentioned, cooperative, or responsive the organization may be to media inquiries received via form – a lot of journalists probably will not initiate contact. They would not expect a response, and they have no time to waste.

YES, SOME ORGANIZATIONS REALLY MAKE THIS MISTAKE

For example, ConservativeMatch, USWeb, ConsumerAffairs.com, and the Immune Response Corp.

Generally, it seems to be small- to medium-sized organizations that make the mistake of only inviting media inquiries via a web-based form. Back in the late 1990s I recall that this problem was common on the web sites of major companies and organizations. However, in the years since , most of the big guys seem to have learned the error of their ways – at least in that respect.

WITH OTHER OPTIONS, A WEB-BASED FORM ISN’T A PROBLEM

When other contact options are offered along with a web-based contact form, most of the potentially negative impressions are dispelled.

Case in point: The media contact page of the Amica Insurance site offers the name, direct phone, and direct e-mail of that company’s key press officer. Below that, a web-based form appears. This creates the appearance of helpfulness, not remoteness and caution. If you really want to offer a web-based form for media contacts, this is the way to go.

NEXT: Put contact info on every press release.
PREVIOUS: Who Are Your Press Contacts?
INDEX to this series.