Booster. Turnoff. Member Inquiry. You’ve heard the terms from time to time, but do you really know what they mean? Here’s a rundown of the terms we use for our different options and services:
Booster: A booster is an Opportunity that is being re-sent, usually because the reporter needs additional sources.
Cloaked Query: When reporters submit an Opportunity, they have the option of “cloaking” it — meaning, they may leave off any identifying information, because they are concerned that other reporters will see their requests. If an Opportunity is cloaked, we’ll include a generic description of the news outlet (e.g., top U.S. daily, national women’s magazine, news and opinion magazine, etc.).
Expert & Topic Alerts: Expert Alerts are like a “reverse Opportunity” — instead of responding to a reporter’s request for an expert, you provide a brief on the expert (his/her name, expertise, opinion) and we distribute it to reporters who cover the industry. Topic Alerts are “roundups” of experts who can all discuss the same topic, e.g., “China Earthquake,” “Presidential Election,” “Myanmar Cyclone.” For more detailed information on Expert & Topic Alerts, click here.
Experts Database: The Experts Database is a searchable database of expert and information officer profiles. Reporters can search the database by keyword(s) and send a “targeted query” to any of the experts that come up in the search results. (The information officer has the option of having the targeted query go to them or to the expert directly.)
Feed: A feed is the list of Opportunities you get throughout the day. You can choose how often you want to receive the feeds: every half hour, once an hour, every two hours, every six hours, twice a day or once a day. To edit the frequency of feed delivery, log on to the site and click on My Feeds, then on E-mail Options.
Heading: The heading is the part of the query that summarizes what the reporter’s looking for, e.g., “POLITICS: Obama vs. Clinton.” Headings are broken up into two parts: the “subject tag” (POLITICS) and the headline (Obama vs. Clinton). The headings allow you to quickly scan the queries to prioritize your feeds more easily.
Interest Category/Subcategory: An interest category is just that — the category (or categories) in which you an interested in receiving Opportunities. We currently have 13 categories (Arts & Entertainment, Education, Health & Medicine, etc.), which you can filter by over 300 subcategories. To view and edit your list of interest categories and subcategories, log on to the site and click on My Feeds, then on Interest Categories.
IO/SIO: An “information officer” (IO) is a PR person who receives the Opportunity feeds. A “super information officer” (SIO), in addition to receiving Opportunities, is also the person in charge of administering the organization’s subscription. Both IOs and SIOs can submit expert profiles for the Experts Database.
Member Inquiry: A member inquiry is similar to a reporter request, in that it asks for experts or other sources for a media opportunity. Examples: a PR agency seeks experts to round out a client’s press release; a company’s public relations representative is in talks with a reporter and seeks “real people” to personalize the pitch. Member inquiries may be submitted online by logging on to the site and clicking on the Create Member Inquiry tab.
Non-Expert: A non-expert request is submitted by reporters in search of “real people,” and will have a NON-EXPERT subject tag. If a request is for non-experts, please adhere to the reporter’s needs and only provide anecdotes.
Opportunities: Formerly called “queries,” Opportunities are requests from originators, primarily reporters, who are looking for expert sources.
Originator: An originator is anyone — a reporter, author, member — who submits an Opportunity.
ProfNet Links: ProfNet Links is a service by which companies submitting press releases via PR Newswire may embed a URL link in the release that links to the expert’s profile in the Experts Database.
ProfNet Post: ProfNet Post (http://profnetpost.prnewswire.com) is a Web site containing news of interest to the PR community. Sections include a calendar of PR events, job postings in the PR field, Q&As with reporters, and Promotional Opportunities (see below). The site does not require registration, and access is free.
Promotional Opportunity: ProfNet members are sometimes in need of finding information that is not related to their media relations duties, such as finding testimonials for a company’s product or securing gift-bag items for event participants. In those cases, they may submit a Promotional Opportunity. These are different from member inquiries in that there is not a media angle — that is, the organization is not working with a news outlet on a story and the request is not part of a media campaign. There is no charge to submit Promotional Opportunities, which are posted on the ProfNet Post on Wednesday afternoons and are included in an advisory alerting members to the new promo opps available. Submit via e-mail to profnet@profnet.com with “Promo Opp” in the subject line.
SIO: (see IO/SIO)
Speaker Service: Via Speaker Service, conference organizers can submit a request for speakers/panelists. Requests are sent to members via the Opportunities feed, with the SPEAKER SERVICE subject tag.
Subcategory: (see Interest Category)
Targeted Query: Targeted queries are Opportunities sent directly from reporters to specific experts profiled in the Experts Database (see Experts Database for more info).
Turnoff: When reporters have gotten the responses they need, they will send a “turnoff” message, indicating they no longer need responses. This is usually done if the reporter has finished gathering sources before the initial Opportunity deadline.