5 Twitter accounts to follow for PR Opportunities

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Psst, follow these 5 Twitter handles for publicity opportunities

How would you like a ‘heads up’ when a reporter or blogger is looking for an expert like you to quote in an upcoming story?

Or maybe you want a chance to build your PR street-cred with journalists by recommending other industry leaders or experts for a story. (That’s a smart move that’ll pay off in future ink for you.)

Tons of journalists and bloggers use Twitter to find experts or “man on the street” commenters for their stories. Why? Twitter is fast-moving and forces brevity. (Journalists are often on tight deadlines and hate long-winded or off-topic responses swamping their email inbox.)

Here are five Twitter handles you can follow to find publicity opportunities:

@AP_Planner

The Twitter feed of AP Planner, a list of more than 35,000 future events. Journalists and newsrooms use this digital calendar to know what’s going over the next 12 months, so that they can cover events and plan news stories.

When you see mention of a news conference, award ceremony, financial announcement, legislative activity or other event that relates to your topic, send a quick (and short) email to your local news reporters, offering yourself as a resource. (Or, tweet them!)

@ExpertTweet

A new Twitter application created by Journalistics that enables any Twitter user to tweet a request for expert suggestions to the ExpertTweet community.

See requests at ExpertTweet.com or search the hashtag #et. When one strikes you, tweet that reporter or blogger.

@HelpaReporter

Follow the twitter handle of hugely popular journalist/blogger and source matching site, HelpAReporter.com. On the website, you can sign up for a daily email blast of journalists, bloggers and other content creators who are looking for experts for their stories.

Urgent requests (those with a super short deadline to respond) are posted on HARO’s twitter feed @HelpaReporter. You can also search the Twitter hashtag, #URGHARO.

@ProfNet

@ProfNet is the Twitter handle of ProfNet.com, an online expert source for reporters. It’s a subscription service, meaning that experts pay to be listed in ProfNet’s searchable database. (It’s a division of news release distribution giant, PRNewswire.)

@PRLeads

PRLeads.com is another subscription leads service, similar to @ProfNet. Subscribe, set up your profile, scan the Twitter feed and respond to requests that meet your expertise.