HARO vs. TwitPitch — Which Matters More?
A simple question…
Which is the more significant PR development: Peter Shankman’s "Help a Reporter Out" or Stowe Boyd’s "TwitPitch"? Share your thoughts via comments…but first, some context.
Help a Reporter Out
Veteran PR guy Peter Shankman started Help a Reporter Out on Facebook. The idea was simple: distribute queries from reporters via e-mail to an opt-in list of PR pros, business owners, and anyone else who could share their expertise. Queries go out 3x daily, and as of last week, more than 12,000 people had subscribed to HARO.
TwitPitch
Business strategy and IT consultant Stowe Boyd conceived the TwitPitch in response to frustration with PR flacks complicating his life. He posted a schedule of times he’d be available for meetings at the Web 2.0 Expo and declared he would not accept e-mail proposals — only 140-character or less TwitPitches.
Here are Boyd’s rules (edited for clarity) for TwitPitches:
- All companies that would like to have a meeting need to
send a description of the product via Twitter to @stoweboyd. - Optionally, send a supporting Twitpitch with one link, and no
other text. Could be to anything: website, video, press release, Rick
Astley, etc. - Then, Twitter one or more suggested times/place to meet at the event, using the times on the calendar, and a location in the conference building.
HARO or TwitPitch? Let the debate begin.
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Scott Hepburn is a veteran PR and marketing professional. He blogs here about marketing, PR, advertising, journalism and social media.