With just 4 weeks to go until the annual HIMSS conference, PR professionals need to ramp up their efforts now if they want to get press coverage. Most important: reach out to the press contacts you know to get on their calendar before it fills up. Also, don’t forget to look at editorial calendars, ditch canned pitches, consider the audience’s perspective, and make it easy for the person you are pitching.
Getting Press at HIMSS22
It’s more important than ever to have a solid media plan for healthcare conferences, especially the large ones.
With so much time, effort and dollars invested in these events, marketers need to do everything they can to get value for their participation. Getting your product, organization, thought-leader, customer, or partner featured in a press article is one of the best ways to extend the value of your conference participation…even if you are not an exhibitor.
HIMSS recently held an open webinar where strategies and tips for getting press coverage were shared by John Lynn and yours truly. The webinar is available on demand here:
- https://himss.zoom.us/rec/share/eKvAkRavJMVPJ2Fyzn-6FWpzq9JfxB98tbyldEIVQ6dV2_kbO3JLThXRFTcV0Ie8.7siefMzTOdMS9I7G
- Passcode: 9dBd+0F@
It’s only a 30 minute session, and I highly encourage you to watch it.
Here are five things that you need to do right now to get the coverage you want at HIMSS22.
1. Reach Out to Press Contacts You Know
When I published the analysis of the HIMSS21 press pitches I received, I remarked at how late many of them arrived.
My calendar is locked in 2 weeks before the big event. I reserve a couple of open spots for last minute additions, but for the most part my calendar is full. Reach out NOW to the press contacts you know personally and get time on their calendar before it fills up.
The key words here are “the press contacts you know personally”. That is the most important factor in getting press coverage at any event – having a relationship with members of the press. When I’ve met someone, even for just 5 minutes, and they remind me (with specifics) of our last meeting at the start of their pitch, I will read it and respond.
In the HIMSS session, John gave some excellent tips on how to establish a relationship including: having a discussion on social media, saying hello/inviting us for coffee during the conference, and having a conversation during one of the after-hours events.
2. Look at Editorial Calendars
Pitching a story that doesn’t match anything that a publication or editor covers is a complete waste of time. It can even hurt your reputation.
Take 10 minutes to look at the editorial calendar of the publication you are targeting. If you don’t see the topic you want to pitch the chances of your pitch getting a response is extremely low.
Pro Tip: Look at the topic that coincides with the event. Publications pick their focus topics with the conference calendar in mind. They will be on the hunt at the conference for stories that correspond with their focus so your chances go up if you can match your pitch to that.
3. Ditch Canned Pitches
It’s easy to tell when someone has sent a canned pitch. There’s zero personalization other than the Dear <Contact Name>. There is a word for unsolicited canned emails sent to people who you don’t know. The word starts with “S” and ends in “PAM”.
I can’t stress this enough: CANNED STORY PITCHES DON’T WORK.
Instead, send a short personally written email that introduces yourself. Hint that you have an interesting story that matches something the person has written about or that the publication will be covering. Keep it brief.
4. Consider the audience
John said it best during the HIMSS webinar: “What you value is often different than what the press values”.
While a company’s new partnership with XYZ Corp may indeed be a tremendous milestone for the two organizations and their existing customers, it may not hold much interest for the general healthcare audience. The same applies to a new product feature being debuted.
When pitching a story to the media, consider things from the audience’s perspective. What would make this story interesting for the audience? The formalization of the partnership might not be interesting, but having an existing customer talk about how that partnership is benefitting patients or staff…now that’s a story!
5. Make it easy
Members of the media are busy at healthcare conferences and in the weeks leading up to them. The easier you make it for them to cover your story, the more chance you have of getting covered.
I don’t mean that you should send the entire press release in your email (please don’t), but if you’ve done the research to know that a specific topic is of interest to that media contact and their audience, then including a short, unique, custom written quote in your email can be extremely helpful.
Also, why not include a calendar link that shows when the executive/customer/thought-leader is available rather than just listing the times in the email?
Do these 5 things right now, and increase your chances of getting media coverage at HIMSS22 and other upcoming healthcare conferences.
PS: We’ve written a number of articles about getting press coverage here on HITMC.com that you might want to check out:
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