There was a time not so long ago when PR professionals and journalists regularly met in person. It would be over coffee, at industry events, or even during newsroom visits.  These meetings weren’t formalities; they were the foundation of strong professional relationships between hacks and flacks. 

Today, however, email has taken over as the dominant form of communication. Press release distribution services have automated much of the pitching process, and the shift to remote and hybrid work post-pandemic has further reduced in-person engagement. While these changes have made PR more efficient in some ways, they’ve also stripped away one of the most valuable tools in a PR professional’s arsenal: genuine, face-to-face relationship building.

Face-to-face is still the way to B2B

Nowhere is this more critical than in B2B technology PR. Unlike consumer PR, where mass media coverage can drive immediate awareness and sales, B2B tech coverage is built on trust, credibility, and in-depth storytelling – things that are smoothed by in-depth connection The journalists covering enterprise technology, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and SaaS are more specialist, expert and justifiably have less time for PR fluff and guff. 

Building these relationships solely over email is an uphill battle, and engaging on social media will only get you so far. Despite there being less organic opportunities to do so, journalists who have met you in person are far more likely to engage with your pitches, take your calls, and consider your clients as viable sources. Face-to-face meetings establish credibility in a way that email simply cannot. When a journalist has seen that you understand their beat, that you’re not just another PR person mass-emailing press releases, they’re more likely to take you seriously.

In the B2B tech space, the best media coverage often comes from nuanced discussions about industry trends, technological breakthroughs, and real-world applications of enterprise solutions. Things that are not easy to convey in a cold email. A live conversation allows for a more dynamic and organic exchange, where new angles can emerge that otherwise would not. A press release might announce a new AI-powered software update, but a candid discussion over coffee might spark a story about the broader trend of AI adoption in enterprise IT – or better yet, reveal an interest that you would otherwise never know about. 

Remember the “R” in “B2B PR”

Of course, in-person meetings require effort. Journalists are busy, and often hilariously outnumbered by PR in the B2B space. But in a landscape where relationship-driven storytelling matters, making time for face-to-face interaction (even if only occasionally) can be the difference between getting ignored and building a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship. 

I’ve been in this space just long enough to see the shift in real time – concurrently with the shift from phone pitching to email and even to social pitches. However, I haven’t been in this space so long that I think one way is fundamentally incompatible with the other. For aspiring PRs – and those old enough to remember calling up AP to literally read out their press release – the advice is the same: Rethink what the “R” in “PR” means. Prioritise in-person for the reasons above, but don’t forget that relationships can be maintained over more than coffee and bar-room tables. Once you’ve made that face-to-face connection, stay in touch the same way you would with any other professional connection. 

As PR professionals, in-person meetings help us do our jobs better, but they also make our work (and lives) more meaningful, more rewarding, and more impactful. In a world that’s increasingly digital, the human touch still makes all the difference.