If there is one thing that I have learned so far in my Public Relations career it is this, if you cannot catch your audience with your headline it is game over. Journalists will simply pass right on by and if poorly written headlines happen more than a couple of times you email goes right into a lovely folder called, spam. Now we ensure that our message will never be seen or read by the audience we are trying to reach. This problem doesn’t happen in just trying to pitch journalists. Write a poor headline for a Facebook article or link it back to a corporate blog, and you can be hidden or un-liked by your audience.
If we are not innovative Public Relations professionals we cannot succeed. Many people attribute the word “spinners” to our profession and when it comes to headlines I completely agree with them. I would define spinning as looking at things differently. Not lying or deceiving but just a different approach. My motivation is to promote an exemplar product or service and the company it stands for. Without the ability to look at things differently and in a way that can connect a product to a person I will not succeed.
In an article written titled, “Small Hinges Swing Big Doors-10 Actions for Big Improvements in Coversation” by Matt Ambrose he discusses the importance of headlines in engaging an audience. “Time and again, it’s been proven that headlines which offer benefits, build intrigue and tell the reader what they will gain if they read further are the most effective.” I believe that this is true. All too many times, BuzzFeed sucks me in with articles like, “11 Terrifying Facts About What You’re Putting On Your Face”
In the book Share This by The Chartered Insititute of Public Relations they discuss what actually warrants an interesting post. “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should (p52)” Although this particular chapter is discussing Public Relations Ethics this phrase really resonates with me. There are just some things that don’t need to be shared on certain platform. A corporate company doesn’t need to post to Facebook and let their customers know that they have a new Vice President of Sales. There isn’t a tangible way to connect that with every day consumers. So can we make customers care about a new Vice President? Sure. Have the Vice President do a Facebook chat and ask the customers what they wanted her to buy for their company to sell. Customers could make their own wish lists and have a direct line to the person who can actually make it happen.
Headline, check. Relevant to audience, check. Now I’m done right? WRONG!
The headline is only the beginning of our story. It isn’t enough to have a good headline the content must also be intriguing.
Kate Brodock wrote about how to increase your engagement with your content and she gives us some good advice. “Creating a more “official” process by which people can directly interact with you makes them a lot more willing, especially if there’s something in it for them. Asking them for their stories relating to a particular topic or running a contest on your blog are sure ways to get more participation.”
Such a huge theme for Public Relations is connecting and engaging. I want to feel connected to those I represent and those I wish to reach with my content. We have to find a good way to engage them in 140 characters or less. That may seem daunting, but I am up for the challenge.
-Caterinni- 
Great point about “spinners.” I know that PR pros get a bad wrap with some people (especially journalists) because people feel that we are, in fact, being deceitful. What you said is absolutely true! It’s not lies or deceit it is looking at a situation from a different and often times more positive perspective. In the instance of a bad situation I often times feel like journalists look at it from the negative angle and say “look how horrible this is,” whereas PR pros are saying “look this was bad, but it could have been worse and this is what our organization is going to do to fix the problem and, in the end, benefit our public.” It’s all about perspective. Now, don’t get me wrong, as PR pros we have to work hand-in-hand with journalists so they must be our friends, so I’m saying all of this out of love.
As far as your overall subject goes I agree. Even though our parents or grandparents taught us “don’t judge a book by its’ cover” in the case of an article or book it’s not all bad to judge the book by its’ cover simply because if the author couldn’t entice us with a catchy headline or title to begin with, they probably have already lost our attention. Unfortunately, there are probably a plethora of well written articles and books out there that have been tossed aside because of a poorly written title or headline and the world will never know what they missed out on.
All of this being said, how do you feel that an author of an article or book can avoid their materials being tossed aside? Is there a suggested formula for success or is it simply a matter of luck?
I think it still something that is up in the air. It all has to do with timing. We cannot control life and events in it. We could have a perfect story but something more important comes along and takes over the headlines. I think at that point we have to ask ourselves how long is our story relevant for?