Krystle Cajas
October 12, 2022 | 05:47:07
8:30 am While the work day won’t officially start until 9 a.m., I’m skimming my Twitter feed for the latest news. Since many of our PR clients are high-growth technology businesses, it’s essential to know what’s trending.
I set lots of Twitter notifications, so I get an alert each time Axios, TechCrunch, Forbes, Bloomberg, CNN, CoinTelegraph, and others tweet. I ‘ll also do a quick google search for context on some of the topics I spot, especially when they’re relevant to our clients. Today I notice that a new virtual reality game using spatial audio has launched. I’m instantly intrigued and refer that tidbit to my client, an expert in the metaverse and AR/VR world. He’s uniquely qualified to comment on the news. I’m always looking for breaking items we may want to “newsjack” by having our clients quoted on the record. Today is off to a good start when he responds that the item is right in his lane and he’s available to comment on email. We have a brief exchange about the direction of his response.
9:00 am I review emails, scan the weekly planner and check my calendar for today’s goals and deadlines. Once I know the shape of the work day, I note my top three priority tasks and make a tentative timeline to complete them, noting that the day has several half-hour client meetings.
9:30 am I prep for my first meeting by checking our quarterly PR plan and updating the agenda to send off before our weekly sync, making sure to add recent media inquiries and responses. The agenda includes a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) index so clients can measure progress against goals. Next is my favorite task – I finish the list of recent media coverage to share. Our clients are busy, so we make an effort to keep them updated in real time. I shoot the document link to my supervisor with ample time for additions or edits before it goes to the client. I feel good about the meeting because our media outreach has gained lots of momentum, and we have a lot to report.
10:00 am I study a report on a client competitor that shows three media mentions for the month. We’ve vowed to stay well ahead of the competition, so we want to ensure our client is included in double the number of top-tier stories for the same time frame. So far, we’re fine, but I note the competitive mentions for our monthly report.
10:30 am Client meeting. Today the client tells us about a new product launch scheduled for early next year. It’s exciting, and we discuss dates for a full briefing with the product team. Then we review our weekly progress — what’s working, what’s not, and what we need from the client for media opportunities, planned pitching, and future news. I note action items for both my team and the client, using only the code name for the new product launch because it’s highly confidential. It feels a little cloak-and-dagger.
11:30 p.m. I reconvene with my team, we go through priorities, and my supervisor assigns tentative deadlines for each. While we’re constantly communicating through Slack, setting a designated time with each team makes it far easier to review our work. Today I’m tasked with drafting a quick pitch on the Wintermute Hack for a client who specializes in cryptocurrency and web3. Then I customize a media list of tech reporters planning stories on Quiet Quitting for another client, prep an abstract for a byline on sales enablement technology, and research a few topics for future content. The time flies.
3:00 p.m. Our client contact has an idea for thought leadership commentary by the CEO, so I go through our database to see which media might fit the topic. It’s a slightly unusual subject, about how a first job influences your career later, so I cast my net widely. Next, I uncover a potential media opp for a different client. I’m not 100% sure about it, so I flag it to the team to get a swift consensus. They agree it’s a good prospect, so I quickly contact the client with full details on the outlet, its monthly metrics, the reporter, and how we should contribute to the piece. I make sure to include a deadline, then I edit or rework it, share it with my team, and send it off to the reporter. Two days later, it comes up in a Google alert, and I feel a shot of adrenaline – another hit!
4:30 pm I finish up last-minute tasks and send off a final draft that need to be reviewed for tomorrow morning. Just as I’m wrapping up, we get an inbound media query from a Forbes writer doing a story about the future of work and the role of technology. The deadline is tight, so I drop everything and respond with some background on our client. It’s not a perfect fit, but to my surprise, she’s interested. I quickly line up a call, mentally preparing the briefing sheet I’ll make for the client to give him context for the conversation.
6:00 p.m. Time to log off. Sometimes that doesn’t happen until a little later, depending on the day’s workload. But I feel I’ve been very productive — three great meetings, several media placements, two reports, and some good ideas for the week. I go through my emails one last time and call it a day.