How to Find Journalists Using Twitter
Twitter is a powerful social media tool. It enables you to gain information from thousands of resources around the world. It also supports you to communicate, connect with, and grow your audience. Finding journalists and media representatives on Twitter is the first step, and while building a connection can take time and effort, finding journalists shouldn’t. The following steps and tips will help you find journalists to connect with on Twitter.
- Leverage the # search function. The hashtag, #Journorequest offers an easy way to find relevant journalists. Search for the hashtag to find what journalists are looking for. They use Twitter to find story ideas and information for stories that they’re working on. Add your industry keywords in your search and you’ll find relevant journalists in your niche. You’ll see a nice list of Twitterers, and you can the start working through the list. Follow those that are relevant to your industry and those that you’re interested in connecting with and building relationships. Also know that you can search with the hashtags #PRrequest and #BloggerRequest, as well.
- Breaking news. If there is breaking news in your industry, or a related industry, finding and following the media representatives that are covering the news can give you insight into who is a good media target to add to your list. You can search by hashtag for the breaking news or leverage the list of trending topics on the left-hand side of your Twitter stream. Click on the feeds and explore the other topics the journalist or blogger covers. You’ll probably want to click through and read their content and visit their profile page as well. Do a bit of research before you make a media representative one of your targeted reps.
- Be the expert and they’ll find you. Position yourself as an expert in your industry. Tweet relevant, interesting, and valuable posts. Create an exceptional profile page; one that represents you professionally and makes it easy for a journalist to reach out and contact you. Then follow your posts with engagement, discussion, and interaction. The more active you are on Twitter and the stronger your brand recognition is, the more likely it is that a journalist will reach out to you when they need help with a story or they’re looking for a story idea.
Finally, while connecting with and engaging with the journalists you’ve identified is absolutely part of your strategy, don’t stop there. You can leverage Twitter to pitch a story idea to a journalist. You can send a direct message if they have that feature activated. If not, it’s okay to tag them in a tweet. Personalize the tweet so they know you’ve done your research. Twitter is a tool that is leveraged by thousands of journalists; leverage it to connect with them and grow your business.
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