Print and online beauty journalists may cover similar topics, but there are many differences between the two mediums. The nature of online means we can be far more flexible: we don't have print deadlines, we don't have space constraints thanks to limited pages, and we can add fun things that drive sales, like links to buy. We can also update posts if things change,” explains Flamingo Pink editor Harriet Farkash.
In addition, online offers great cross-promotional opportunities. Almost everything is cross-promoted on social media instantaneously to keep in line with the prolific online culture and keep the website traffic engine chugging,” says Drop Dead Gorgeous Daily beauty editor Kristina Ioannou.
With online offering different outcomes to print, there are important things for PRs to note when it comes to working with online journalists. We publish so much more content and every day. We can't run duplicate content as it's bad for SEO. If we are getting something, it needs to be fresh and better still, exclusive,” says Rescu editor Bahar Etminan. To find out more about the main differences between online and print reporting, bd investigates key topics including deadlines, how to pitch a press release, and sending in product.
Meeting online deadlines
When it comes to print, there are different deadlines depending on if you’re working with newspapers, weekly magazines or monthly magazines. Online adds a whole new set of rules when it comes to working to deadlines. Because the digital space is so fast-paced, something that's a huge trend one day could be considered 'passe' the next. For that reason, we work to tighter deadlines and therefore have shorter lead times,” says beautyheaven.com.au editor Debbie Black (nee Selikman).
Working online means that a story can literally be written and loaded in a matter of minutes, however, most stories are written ahead of time. Our stories are usually done several weeks in advance, but if I've seen something I really want to do that week and know it's going to be great for website traffic, I'll try and make it happen within a few days. But usually all stories must be filed, edited and in at least a week or two in advance,” says Ioannou. Black adds, We have daily and weekly deadlines. All features (going live at the start of the week) need to be done and dusted by midday on a Friday, and blogs generally need to be written and ready for subbing the day before they go live.”
At Rescu, the site plans stories four to six weeks in advance so requires a longer lead-time unless it’s a news story or exclusive. Primped prefers to receive the information a week or two out from the on-shelf date as it gives beauty editor Lauren Carter enough time to test the product and look at her story schedule for the coming week to see if it can be placed. beautyheaven requires product and info three to four weeks in advance for feature articles and how-to videos, while blogs can be anything from one day to one week. Flamingo Pink likes to take advantage of being able to quickly put up information but requires a month for bigger features and blogs that need more research and product testing.
What editors are looking for in a press release
With online editors churning out content at high speeds, there are some essential elements to ensuring your press release cuts through the noise. I require all product information to be available on the press release sitting in front of me – including prices and product information – as I don't have time to go searching for these vital details. If it's not on the press release, more often than not I'll swap it out for another product,” says Carter.
At Primped, the three essential elements to a press release are price, release date and stockist information. At beautyheaven.com.au, the company is looking for fresh ideas. We produce a lot more content so are always looking for interesting ideas or different ways to incorporate products into articles. It's always very welcome when a PR sends through interesting facts, ideas or something that gives their product a point of difference rather than simply just emailing a press release,” reveals Black.
When it comes to the perfect press release, Rescu is after a great pitch, an exclusive angle, a PR manager who understands how digital works, a good product, and a credible expert to quote or interview. Drop Dead Gorgeous Daily also likes to have an expert to call on. If I'm working on a story and I notice that an expert in a press release is available to comment about the topic I'm working on, I'll usually get in touch with the PR rep right away or I'll even create a story based on the commentary that's available,” says Ioannou.
Other information Drop Dead Gorgeous Daily is looking for is knowledge on the ingredients, whether or not it can be bought online in Australia, the price, and how the product can benefit the user. Farkash also advises that a good idea when pitching to online journalists is to include a link to where it’s available, as well as including all your social media handles and hashtags.
To send or not to send product?
Similarly to print, an editor is much more likely to feature a product that they’ve tried themselves rather than blindly taking information from a press release. It's hard to write about something you haven't experienced. The press release might say how wonderful a lip gloss is but how do I know unless I've tried it?!,” explains Farkash. Carter adds, At Primped we insist on testing products before we write about them so we can give our readers honest and personal insight.” While media do like to test the product first before writing about it, they don’t always need a full size product. Samples are also useful to help us discover and fall in love with your products. For skincare brands, an actual application of your products via a facial or desk side presentation is also really useful,” says Etminan.
So what exactly are media looking for when it comes to a new product? At Rescu, Etminan will most likely feature a product if she has respect for the brand, curiosity about the product, and a clever PR that personalises the pitch. A product is most likely to gain attention from the beautyheaven team if it is new on the market, is from a reputable brand, has already created a buzz overseas, and looks pretty. Primped will feature products that look, smell and feel great – providing they do what they claim to do, and have favourable results when compared to similar products.
Similarly to working with magazines, just because you send a product in, doesn’t mean the product will definitely be featured. We love that you send us stuff, but please don't do it with the expectation that we will definitely post it on social media just because we're online – if we did that with everything, we'd turn into an advertising feed!” warns Farkash.
Requesting changes
A great thing about working with online is that changes can be made after a piece has gone live. However, this does not give a PR or brand a free invitation to request multiple changes to an article. Asking me to make 1000 changes to an article that's already gone live is a big no-no, unless there is a severe error that needs to be amended,” reveals Ioannou.
Providing images
Most magazines are aligned with a photographic studio in which they can shoot product, however, this luxury is not always available to online sites. We don't shoot product unlike print publications, however, we do require high res images as we need to re-size them to our site specifications using PhotoShop,” says Carter. Farkash adds, Give us great images – we love, love, love images online, but it can be really hard to find ones we can actually use legally, and not many of us have Getty accounts!!” Products should be shot on a white background on their own (without decoration) - a good point for brands to keep in mind when updating their beautydirectory listing images.