Qwoted: 10 Ways to Make the Most of the Media Platform

The latest Muck Rack State of Journalism Report reveals the average journalist is inundated with pitches – 40% receiving at least six per day and some getting over 50.

However, they don’t always hit the mark: 25% reveal a lack of personalization is the issue, while 22% of journalists report that the pitches come at a bad time.

In the ever-changing media landscape and amid the ongoing shifts in digital transformation, including shrinking newsrooms and AI adoption, it’s more important than ever for public relations professionals to creatively approach the pitch process and engage with journalists in a more thoughtful, intentional manner.

Enter Qwoted: the media platform made with personalization in mind and expertly catered to both the journalist and the PR professional.

In the platform’s own words: “Qwoted is a network connecting media with brands, experts and small businesses. We’re helping people around the world tell their stories by revolutionizing the traditional media market with advanced tech and AI.”

At Bospar, we are no strangers to using this service for public relations success. In fact, our media savviness is one of our agency capabilities we’re most proud of.

Recently, both of us were honored to receive the Qwoted 100 accolade, a ranking of the best PR professionals in the industry today. The algorithm uses a number of different key factors, including response speed and positive replies from reporters. We’re ecstatic to have received this recognition, which prompted us to prepare our top 10 insights into how best to utilize Qwoted to make marketing and PR campaigns shine.

How to Tap into The Media Magic of Qwoted

1. Elevate Your Experts: When using Qwoted, you’re only as good as your best assets. And, in this case, your assets are the executives or experts you represent as a PR professional. It’s critical that you include as much detail as possible for their individual profiles, using keywords to connect to broader industry trends and linking to all relevant social media handles to provide the most background possible to a journalist perusing the page.

2. Show, Don’t Tell: In PR, we know how to position our spokespeople as experts in their respective industries through hero messaging, proprietary data, and more; however, impact with journalists often lies in what you can show versus what you tell. We recommend including backlinks on your experts’ profiles to past thought leadership bylines, quote inclusions in coverage, etc. to help paint a picture for the media, illustrating expertise.

3. Prop Up Your Own Profile: While the experts you represent may be at the heart of what the journalists are after, you must make sure you’re also representing yourself well on the platform. Ensure your own page includes accurate contact information, links to all the experts you work with and keyword tags to show reporters what key industries you work across (i.e., tech, CPG, fashion, etc.).

4. Keep an Eye on Media Moves: Qwoted provides a full database of journalist updates for publication, beat and title changes. For the utmost public relations success, it’s imperative to keep a finger on the pulse and know when and where media contacts have landed to pitch them to your best ability. These insights open the door for PR professionals to share congratulations and brainstorm new angles to meet changing editorial needs.

5. Keep Buzzwords Buzzy: As PR professionals often work with experts across varying industries, it’s recommended to continually update keywords on their profiles in response to the quickly evolving media landscape. For instance, we all know the Great Resignation trended for quite some time in HR and future of work verticals; however, it quickly became overused and journalists leaned heavier into other iterations like Quiet Hiring, Rage Applying and more. 

6. Lighten The Lift: Company executives have packed schedules. Adding Qwoted as part of the agency onboarding process gives precious time back to your stakeholders to keep the business running. So, let’s make it easy! Once you’ve identified your SMEs and added them to your spokesperson matrix, incorporate approved biographies, topics of interest, headshots and other media assets to their Qwoted profile.

7. Timing Is Everything: Proactive pitching is vital to a successful PR campaign and a strong cadence of media coverage. Reporters are often inundated with hundreds, sometimes thousands, of pitches a day! The best way to get their attention is to respond early to source requests.

8. POV Meets PR: Keeping up with the news is part of being an informed citizen, but being a PR pro means quickly filtering and identifying what’s most topical to our clients. PR that provides strategic recommendations on when to comment, what to comment and even if to comment is what separates industry leaders from the rest of the pack. When a company is armed with a PR partner that understands and articulately conveys the POV of the C-Suite, dream headlines happen!

9. It’s A Two-Way Street: It’s hard to imagine a meaningful conversation with someone who only talks about themselves. Similarly, the easiest way to lose a media-friendly is by pitching them any and every move your client makes. As communications professionals, we must communicate effectively with the media! The most harmonious relationships lead with mutual respect, so take a beat to consider if the pitch fits the ask before sending off your next Qwoted request.

10. The Reality of Relationship-Building: Not to break the hearts of our fellow PR professionals, but it must be said not every client interview results in coverage— but here’s the good news: the value of those conversations goes beyond a potential headline. You’ve probably heard the term relationship-building, but we’re here to qualify it as an essential practice to convey to your clients. These positive interactions help boost your Qwoted score (and get your pitches more attention), but they also help build long-term, valuable relationships with reporters. Briefings and introductory calls are an excellent way to convey your client’s value prop without the added pressure. That’s how you bag the ultimate media win: becoming a go-to source!