PR Squared: How Not To Use LinkedIn for PR

I received a “pitch” – if you can call it that – via LinkedIn this morning. (If you want to see exactly what I saw, click the screen-cap pictured here at the blog.)

This is a perfect example of how PR pros get a reputation for being “spammers.”

The pitch is about a contest sponsored by Malibu Rum, asking contestants to film a music video of an updated version of that Carribean classic tune, “Day-O.” Malibu is hosting a YouTube channel for the submissions. Pretty fun, clever idea.

But the outreach approach, at least in my case, is way off.

I received an “OpenLink” message from a stranger. I allow “all comers” to contact me via LinkedIn, but this is the first time someone’s abused the privilege.
This message came from someone with ZERO LinkedIn connections. (Not just zero connections in-common with me; they have zero connections – period.)
All they sent me was a press release. No pitch. No, “Hi, thought you might be interested in this because I see that you sometimes cover subjects such as viral videos’ role in marketing campaigns.”
The subject line says that the message is for “PRsquared.” If you read my blog, you know that I tend to say “PR-Squared.” (You also know that I hate it when folks use “Shift” instead of “SHIFT,” but I’ve pretty much given up on that one.) It’s a small point, but speaks to the lack of preparation and personalization that is ever-more-important in today’s environment.

LinkedIn can be an incredibly valuable resource. Just as email is a fanatastic tool. And the Web. And IM. And the phone. But each and every “bad pitch” like this one sends a message to our targeted influencers that we don’t care about their time, their opinion, their assistance. Every bad pitch like this one gives our friends in the mediasphere one less reason to open that email, to pick up that ringing phone.

The fact that this PR person was able to reach out to me via a “new” channel doesn’t make this a Social Media savvy campaign. It is just another stinky pitch.

As I noted recently, the transparency coming to bear on the PR industry will inexorably eradicate such silliness. Let’s hope so.