The media is and will continue to be a mess...forever. For starters, the landscape is no longer dominated by a bunch of white wealthy guys smoking cigars, but by that 17-year-old with a blog about electronics read by 20,000--or the stay-at-home Dad who writes eNewsletters about techniques for other stay-at-homes...
How does this affect us? For one, content now moves upstream. Anyone can affect, drive or create news now. The upshot of this We The Media paradigm is that as The New York Times shrinks to matchbook size, anyone with tech capabilities can deliver stories, unfiltered, to whoever wants them -- a sure threat to the erstwhile big guys, and one with significant implications for those of us who practice what used to be called "media relations."
Welcome. We now exist as practitioners who rule—as opposed to being the ones who send out information we “hope, cross fingers,” will take care of our needs, or our clients’, or our bosses’. Over the next decade media will begin turn to us as actual sources, rather than just as conduits for facts or spin. What does that mean? How will this manifest? The following are Bad Pitch Blog’s six rules of effective future media relations to illustrate what it will take to become the source journalists will depend on in the months/years ahead.
* Releases (must feature reportage). From the beginning of PR time, our folks have been tasked with writing releases and distributing them. Sounds good, right? Not anymore. The material we put out will need to have real knowledge ("intelligence") reporters can use in stories-not pre-crafted material that, well, just sounds good. One factor driving this will be continued newsroom downsizing, with journalists becoming desperate for help with original reportage as they do triple duty.
* Relevance (must drive every pitch). When we pitch in the near future, everything will be about relevance. Filter,man. We must carefully consider our own words; it will no longer be about the perfect quote or comma placement. Now it's the facts as they're relevant to specific, niche audiences online (and off). Since we are placing our own words into a vertical repository (e.g., narrowcasting versus a wire service release), personalized thoughts will be paired with other relatable messages-so we reach micro-targeted audiences, as well as those you never even considered. Unlike now, when throwaway lines disappear into the ether as rhetoric or vapor, we will now need to have a tailored, audience-specific tale to tell.
* Research (must occur online and off). We will need to comprehend a lot more than we do today about clients, their businesses and customers. What's more, we will need to reach out and touch actual consumers. Translation: For the first time, we will have to climb out of our comfy ivory tower ("We deal with the media") and get our hands super dirty. Consequently, we have to get to know customers and discover what they're saying about products firsthand. As "the PR person," we need to be able to solve customer problems by bringing them directly to those who can make changes in the company. That's new. How will we find them? Really? It’s so easy to do this – easy to find people, easy to see how good they are—and don’t rely on Klout. Just saying “hey that person is popular” equals shit.
By going online and forming groups and asking people—that’s another way. Unlike today, where real world focus groups are so coldly depended upon, soon (real soon) will be in virtual worlds where customers, will bitch us out like they do our customers-or hopefully compliment a beloved products' nascent features and cool developments.
* Response (must be rapid and brief). People who report, blog, post or write in any way about a company or client will respond only if you're speedy-and terse. That means no next day call backs. That means constant access. It also means words have to make its absolute point on someone's device without having to scroll. If what you say is too long for a window, it won't translate into a strong sell for a reporter, blogger, cyberjournalist or whatever you want to call that online influencer.
* Rankings (must inform outreach). Everything will be more than ever about 1s and 0s and how they are spread around. If we can get your words onto a single screen, the PR person will drive revenue-in the form of more clicks for the reporter. Definition of viral: we are not only spreading a message or brand, but we are also working WITH the big cheese spreader (blogger, publisher, journalist, newsletter biggie, guy who talks a lot) so he stays in business-and the way he will do that in the future will be via clicks, and more clicks, and even more clicks. You eat what you kill and if you're up in the rankings, it means you got results!
*Skillset (must do more). We need to be multimedia producers (format and quality content), we need to understand search, we need to understand analytics on the back end, we need to be strategists, we need to be tacticians, we need to be story tellers. Holy sh!t. Bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan and put your spouse and kids to bed! Master a core set, but understand how they all work together.
And yeah right above I used the word easy. But if you find someone who seems too easy….they are probably not doing their job. It's fast and easy for Disney to send Chris Brogan on a cruise. But how in the fu(k is he going to sell cruise tickets?
On the other hand if someone is passionate about “a” subject, you need to be in touch with her if she happens to cover YOUR field.
It’s a new world, baby! As we get to the bottom of the first month of the new decade (the world did not start at 0), changes are afoot faster than ever before.
Take advantage. Add to the list above and let’s start the freaking debate.
@laermer and @badpitch (and thanks to @prblog for adding some crucial crap!)
This is probably the best post I've read lately that lays out exactly what we need to learn.
ReplyDeleteContent creation will drive what we do in the future. We are no longer just about pitching stories. We create them.
It's kind of exciting, don't you think?
This is an excellent post and proves once again that every time new technology or media cultural shifts force the PR profession to actually make their pitches relevant and news worthy, that in itself becomes newsworthy! I continue to believe it's as much a problem of charging by the hour as it is the changing media scene that has caused PR to believe that the superfluous puffery and bloated verbiage is as valuable as a concise pitch.
ReplyDeleteBrad and Dick - Thanks for the feedback. Richard was pretty passionate about it and I was happy to weigh in on his post.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny to see this cycle play out multiple times as new technology is upon us. But I think Dick is hitting upon the real elephant in the room -- the current business model makes it tough to take a different approach.
Good principles. For years now savvy PR people have been providing info direct to publics, not only through media relations. The new technology only makes that more possible. We're teaching students old fashioned research and reporting skills, as well as writing that is newsworthy and objective enough to get past skeptics (consumers are gatekeepers now too).
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, conventional media won't die entirely. And we PR people need to encourage their survival, because that third-party credibility still has value, and may have more in the future. So we'll continue to reach our publics in direct ways AND we'll rely on reporters as well.
Great post! I also see synergies between the growing content marketing movement and PR. Orginal, quality content is a valuable asset--and becoming more valuable every day, given the current media environment.
ReplyDeleteI would add "Accountability" since you're basically describing PR practitioners becoming journalists. When you create and publish content you're open to libel and fraud if your information is not verified, hopefully with multiple sources. Journalists have to live with these constraints and if we're going to treat the web as a source of information, it should too.
ReplyDeleteReally good stuff here. PR pros could almost use it as a checklist. Here was my favorite part though:
ReplyDelete"As "the PR person," we need to be able to solve customer problems by bringing them directly to those who can make changes in the company."
Hello, PR pros. Take note, please. For the longest time we have been just the mouthpiece for our brands. No more. We are now the conversation facilitators and customer touchpoints. We need to market that and we need to do our jobs!
Would it be a bad idea to have pitches optimized for social media?
ReplyDeleteAssuming the reportage is complete the pitch is relevant, researched, and well written...would formatting the response in an easily shared format be pushy or just plain smart?
Great list. This article is a definite MUST READ for PR people everywhere.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you think about "working the phones" with the media? As a reporter, I hated when PR folks called me with stupid s&&t. As a PR pro, I'm reluctant to stalk them because I respect their time. But there are a lot of PR folks who've never been journalists who don't get the method to my madness. I've got a boss now who thinks you gotta work the phones for events that should only have one paragraph and photo at most.
ReplyDeleteBut I have to "work the phones" to make her think I'm working. I know I'll get coverage after the event because I'll be sending a release with photos and a pre-made story. But I'm loathe to set her straight because I need the gig. If I worked with the client directly, I wouldn't waste my time for appearances. Do you all "work the phones" as much in the era of Twitter, Facebook, email, etc?
Great advice on PR in 2011. I really like your comment about being multimedia producers. Too many PR professionals are just writers.
ReplyDeleteTo Anonymous: Working the phones is most effective with just the few key reporters who would actually be interested in your information; don't leave more than one VM so you're not perceived as annoying. If your story is not newsworthy at all, figure out a way to make it interesting, or combine with something else that IS newsworthy.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. My current title is "Media Relations Manager" and I've been working to have it changed to something like, "Content Creator/Media Relations." The way I see it, the media is just one of the many platforms we have for telling our story. The idea that someone should be creating content only for press releases or pitches is just incredibly outdated. In fact, I see myself moving more toward video and other multi media in storytelling.
ReplyDeleteI was little confused by your comments on 'releases'. On one hand you say its time has gone but on the other you say they need to be more 'reportage' based. Any good release always had to be reportage based if to be taken seriously, nothing's changed there. What has changed, as you point out, is the staff pressure on publications now. In many ways this makes a well crafted release even more important as a comms tool. If it is targeted, well written reportage it may well be used verbatim and that's exactly what all good comms pros should be aspiring to.
ReplyDeleteCraig: Maybe your releases are reportage-based but 99 percent of the ones I see are written like advertisements. Reporting means don't put the dateline in, just say what you are talking about, give the theme or the angle -- and make it actually printable or usable in some way. The last sentence you say is exactly the distinction between what I see as a release and real news.
ReplyDeleteI've been a journalist for 40 years. Too many words mate. I skipped about one third of the way through. Lord Northcliffe said it best: brevity, clarity, understanding. The medium is not important, it's the message. When amateurs learn how to write well, they'll be in with a chance.
ReplyDelete