Features and tRends

(December 2008)

Media Relations: Trends & Tactics from a

Public Relations Perspective
By: Shannon K. Benton


Simply stated, the business realm is changing and “business as usual” doesn’t cut it anymore. After years of abundance from lending institutions and a surplus of credit availability, American corporations are now “trimming the fat” in terms of inventory, services, staff and consumer offerings. As a result, our great nation finds itself narrowly focused on the necessities required to keep this vast machine operating.

Today’s economic climate has also taken a drastic toll on American media. Just this month, Hearst Corporation, a large New York publishing house, announced the consolidation of O at Home into O, The Oprah magazine. Similarly, traditional media outlets such as print magazines, are forgoing their print options altogether and offering their content solely online. This change is a direct result of limited advertising budgets, which provide the funding for other media.

The changes in the media world may seem frightening, but these occurrences pose a rather unique opportunity for businesses, consumers, journalists, marketers and public relations professionals alike as Internet consumption is on a continual rise. According to a recent Pew survey titled, “2008 Biennial News Consumption,” the Internet is attracting more viewers than any national print media form or outlet with more than 250 million Americans shopping online and consuming information online daily.

In addition, the rising popularity of social media including discussion forums, blogs, microblogs, podcasts, social networks, social bookmarking sites, online video and search engines, has created vast, new mediums to tap into and has literally changed traditional media relations strategies and tactics seemingly overnight.

Old school marketing tactics simply no longer work in today’s fast-faced, Internet forum. As such, it is critical for all companies and their marketing teams to take the time to explore new avenues and opportunities in brand outreach including media relations strategies. The first step is to overcome the fear of this new media world in order to embrace the latest tools you now have at your disposal. Take a look at the chart below to see which way your traditional marketing strategies should be heading.

Traditional Marketing

Internet Marketing

Broadcast advertising

Banner ads

Direct mail

E-mail

Press releases

Web site pressroom

Promotions

Online events

Networking

Chat rooms/listserv

Word of mouth

Viral marketing

Non-Traditional Media Takes Over, Creates Opportunity
Publishers, editors, marketers and public relations practitioners alike understand the slowing of traditional media and the rise of the Internet. As such, virtually every editor now has his or her own blog, including Nick Bajzek of Reed Business Media who just launched his new blog site, the Product Guy. Popular media sources such as Consumer Reports, CNN, This Old House, and Bob Vila.com also have editors on staff dedicated to blogging and responding to visitor queries each and every day.

Regarding media relations, non-traditional media offers a prime opportunity for public relations professionals to better “participate in the conversation”. For instance, editors are now looking for online streaming videos to improve web traffic. Additionally, with continual budget decreases among editorial staffs, editors are now seeking for story packages that they can edit and build upon. Bundling several compelling story ideas and disseminating these to various press outlets can be a very effective way to reach editors, gain their attention, and take some stress out of their work day.

What’s more, today’s companies (and consumers for that matter) now have the opportunity to BE the publisher. Corporate blogs and consumer-generated content campaigns have gained momentum over the past five years and have become one of the hottest trends in corporate communications. Today’s bloggers ARE the trend setters and communicators, the brand evangelists and the brand critics for that matter… advising and educating the Internet community on topics spanning from entertainment/lifestyle to politics and technology. And it’s not all about blogging, video sharing sites like YouTube and social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace now provide opportunities to network with your customers, business colleagues and the media. This is just the beginning. The communications options are seemingly endless!

With that said, there are still traditional marketing communications and media relations strategies to follow. Remember to think first, then act. Your communications should “play it straight”, be succinct, transparent, responsive, accepting, insightful, genuine, humorous and timely. Have a solid media relations strategy that will direct and drive your use of new media and technology.

The public relations team at Kleber & Associates is on the cutting edge of online and social media marketing. We hope you will join us in the online conversation. It would be our pleasure to tell you more about how to make the Internet work for you. To learn more about K&A’s strategic approach to Internet Marketing, contact Steve Kleber, sk@kleberandassociates.com or 770.518.1000. Also, check out Steve’s blog at www.kleber-marketing.com and don’t be afraid to leave us your comments.

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