End of the year press events are often a fun and festive time to get together to celebrate the holidays and while there is plenty of drinking, eating and partying, there is great PR value to this face to face interaction.

Throughout the year all people in PR will interact with editors and journalists on a monthly, if not weekly and more often daily basis. Hundreds of emails can be swapped throughout the year without ever having a face to a name or email. Having recently wrapped up a press event, I realised the power of meeting someone and shaking their hand.

The ability to build an offline relationship with a key editor or journalist is what makes a publicist exceptional here are some of the reasons this should be a priority for anyone in PR.

Feedback – The end of year press event was a success in the mere fact that editors and journalists attending gave instant feedback on what they thought about the product, something that is sometime hard to achieve email. You can gauge their reaction to the product on the spot.

Sharing the excitement – On paper, products can only be described, but in person one can get excited about the product and you can share this excitement with the editor.

Putting a face to the email – The next time that editor you’ve just met receives an email from you, they will be far more likely to open it and read (your press release).

Learn more – When meeting an editor, you can get more of a feel of who they are and what the publication is like. It give a publicist an insight to the publication that is often beneficial when pitching next time.

So this New Year, make it a resolution to meet your key journalists and editors over press events or a simple coffee and it’ll make your year that much easier!