Web 2.0 provides an opportunity for a true PR renaissance. The increasing rate of change and the rapid propagation of news/comments (good and bad) make it all the more important for firms to monitor and manage their reputation online. Moreover, the ability of social media to drive traffic sd not be under-estimated and that, too, provides opportunities for PR. In the future PR success won't be measured in column inches, it will be measured in mentions and page views.
Adapt or Die.
Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
· 1 year ago
True. There's no substitute for a good product, but even with a good product and the ever increasing niche-ness of what's coming out these days, most times I find a press release or an email just doesn't cut it.
Actual verbal words must be exchanged for me to catch the vision on a lot of the ideas I'm pitched. PR folks who realize this are indeed invaluable.
frani lieberman
· 1 year ago
bravo bravo bravo. i'm a pr person who believes in a true value and need for public relations professionals-but i don't agree that the above is a wholly new mentality...A good PR person is never a gatekeeper... although i believe my MCOM 101 class defined PR as such. I get a thrill out of developing great relationships with journalists/bloggers, providing information and resources for journalists in a timely and effective manner. the end result is great for everybody- client, PR practitioner, and blogger/journalist. but again, is this really a new thing? shouldn't it have always been this way?
LucidNewYork
· 1 year ago
your link doesn't work...
Palin Ningthoujam
· 1 year ago
Agreed. PR is supposed to be like that. Problem is many people equate PR with just getting coverage in newspapers, TV, and now blogs. Inside the industry, we called such agencies media relations agency, not PR agencies. Full scale PR agencies do a lot of things like charting out the messaging for a company for the year and beyond, getting celebrities to sign up for a cause, develop consumers campaigns, CSR activities, roadshows, explore partnership opportunities with media houses, events, and other organisations, train spokespersons, conduct media workshops, content development, and more. The coverage comes as a result of these activities. So the key emphasis put on any PP plan is not generating just good stories and tapping newspapers. It revolves around many other things. Of course the pitching happens, no denying that.
LucidNewYork
· 1 year ago
I agree. I decided not to hire a PR agency to generate buzz about my jewelry company. I think that many PR agencies send press releases, which method in my opinion is a bit outdated. I prefer giving my jewelry pieces as gifts to media people when I meet them, pitching bloggers and sponsoring events attended by my targeted customers.
PJ Brunet
· 1 year ago
I'm sorry, but deep down we all know PR is obsolete, information wants to be free aka the Internet.
frani lieberman
· 1 year ago
sorry, the link works now.
Jason Kintzler
· 1 year ago
It's apparent you haven't seen http://pitchengine.com yet. We aim to change media relations like never before. Skipping over the basics of communication won't help journalists and PR make the transition- both will continue to resist. There are too many other things involved- specifically assets like high-res photos, sample requests, etc., Not only does the PitchEngine SMR builder help journalists by allowing PR to send all the assets in a a tight package- it will be the first social web app to allow media like you to filter and approve pitches before they arrive. Stay tuned...
Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
· 1 year ago
That sounds like a good idea, and I'll be checking it out...
.. but all the best assets in the world accompanying the press release aren't necessarily going to make me write up the product if it's something I don't catch the vision for.
Ange
· 1 year ago
Great article. I'm a PR girl down in Sydney and can safely say gone are the days of mass press release distributions and media briefings. It's all about being tailored. I still see a definite need for traditional PR for corporate clients for a while to come yet - it can be damn hard getting around internal red tape at times - but for consumer brands, digital PR is the way forward. While we're a little behind the UK and US in terms of digital PR, Australia is definitely picking up the pace and I love being a part of it. It's not just the reach companies are looking for now, they're after interaction with their customers. It's about time.
The Red Rocket
· 1 year ago
Good post, although disagree with PK Burnett that in time PR will become obsolete: it will just change in definition and practice.
Unless you're into crisis management or perhaps the political scene, most (decent) PRs already know that it's already about information flow. Balance is accepted as par for the course - most of the challenge relates to cutting through the noise (of other PR) and getting your story across.
The challenge in the digital world remains the same, though many PR professionals will have to change a few ideas to get up to speed with the new emerging rules of engagement.
Palin Ningthoujam
· 1 year ago
Agreed. On another perspective, few days back, Gmail was down for some time and the whole blogosphere cried foul of Gmail not updating its blog and not coming out with a clarification fast enough. We have to remember that PR is the only communications machinery for a corporate for sending out its messages in a structured manner to the outside world.
Of course a CEO of a two-member startup can always say 'I can blog and use Summize and contact with my customers directly on Twitter and Friendfeed.' But when you are like Google or Microsoft, it's a different ballgame altogether. People expect you to communicate and communicate well and that's the role of PR.
When you don't have a communications department in your $50 bn company, the result is utter chaos. A few of us might want to look for tweaks and news our own way here and there. But that does not make the official communications machinery obsolete.
Mark "Rizzn" Hopkins
· 1 year ago
The two person start-up doesn't really need a PR pro at all in the social media/Web 2.0 space. FriendFeed, Twitter, Facebook and a myriad of tools exist to allow everyone to reach who they want seamlessly.
Anything more than a two-person startup is definitely going to need a qualified PR person to accurately convey the undoubtedly complex message that is your company - and by qualified, I mean a PR person that fits the above description from my post.
On a different note, companies in crisis can also benefit a great deal from this new style of PR. I remember a couple of stories from the past 12 months in which I followed some companies heading for the deadpool, and in one case I had a great rapport with their corporate communications fellow. I was much more willing to hold stories until I got the fuller picture at his request because I knew and could trust the guy when he said a full explanation was on the way - if he hadn't taken the time to establish that relationship, I'd probably ignore what I would see as a delay-tactic and run with the story as I had it. In the end, because of a relationship that extended a bit beyond the professional mandates we both had, I had a fuller, richer story to tell and he was able to more ably perform his job for his company.
Tracy Playle
· 1 year ago
I couldn't agree more with Palin's take on what PR actually is. When I tell people that I am a 'communications consultant' they often look at me blankly. I clarify by saying I'm a 'PR person'. Look of understanding and relief falls over their face. Then I add '... but I don't really deal with the press'. Blank look returns.
For me the role of the PR person who understands opportunities with new media is more exciting than ever before. Finally good PR professionals are able to act not just as mediators between client/company and press, but are able to truly show their worth as content creators. Granted, many of us have been doing this for years (think publications, speech writing, etc) but now the opportunities are endless. Any PR person not seizing those opportunities to create the content themselves instead of relying on the press or other bloggers to pick up on it is missing out on a world of opportunities for their clients. And any client commissioning a PR agency purely to 'do media relations' is missing a trick!
Palin Ningthoujam
· 1 year ago
Nice perspective there. While PR professionals have been relying on the media to create public content for their clients, the web today is offering an opportunity for the PR folks to create the content and make it public as well.
GalaxySpectrum
· 1 year ago
This article was much more balanced than most of the articles - which came across as patronizing about the PR profession.
We do employ many of the techniques you outlined when promoting our clients.
alisa leonard-hansen
· 1 year ago
Cool....but duh, Steve's not groundbreaking here by any means, so very 2007.
Rachel
· 1 year ago
I agree with Kelly - we are needing to become more crafty with all of the new online vehicles popping up, but I have always been committed to developing relationships with any and all media by staying abreast of what they cover and making my correspondence relevant. What I offer the press is not as a gatekeeper of information, but as someone who knows what you need for a great story and will do anything I can to help you get that from the people I work for. I can advise my client to give you an exclusive, rather than pepper the Internet with a press release. I consider it to be a mutually beneficial relationship, and I think it is a shame that these arguments about our value continue. I suppose that comes from the lessons that some PR people still need to learn.
celticagent
· 1 year ago
Totally depends on the target audience. If your TA is a bunch of silicon-valley geeks (like you guys, techcrunch dudes, gawker media, etc), then you're probably right.
If your TA is normal every-day consumers, Wal-mart shoppers, worker-bees, then you still need a brick and mortar PR company.
BTW, Michael Arrington also posted an opinion on this article today. You guys must read each others' task lists, eh? I'm getting tired of reading multiple blogs about the same bleeding topic day after day. When are we going to see some original opinion?
Luca Penati
· 1 year ago
Mark,
PR is much more than media relations or pitching bloggers. It's much more than being the conduit between a company and the media (traditional and social.) It's about been strategic on what you want to communicate, how, when and to whom. A good PR campaign can reach influencers beyond media and blogs. They can reach financial analysts, industry anlaysts, academia, legislators, partners, employees, consumers, customers, local communities, online communities, Wall Street, etc. It depends on the company business and its business goals.
If the point of your blog is that the media landscape is changing and therefore PR people need to understand it in order to provide sound counsel to their clients (regardless of whether you are in-house or on the agency side) then I agree with you. However, good PR people are much more than publicists. They know that blasting a pitch email hoping that it sticks will not work. And most importantly, it never worked (not with media in the past, not with bloggers today.)
Knowing your audiences, building relationships, crafting stories, engaging your stakeholders, and providing them with what they need is what PR is all about. Nothing new. What is changing is the complexity and the environment, which is more complex, and in my opinion, a lot more fun. Good PR is here to stay. Good PR practitioners will always find a seat at the table if they continue to do what they have been doing for years: listening, and adapting to a changing landscape.
ekhess
· 1 year ago
I say good riddance to the narrow model of measuring success – which revolved around “how much media coverage can we get?†That view often put a single tactic before the definition of objectives and audiences, and skipped the question, "what is the BEST way, and the BEST place, to talk with our audience?" From the telegraph era to the tweet era, good communication basics have remained the same.
Mike Volpe - HubSpot
· 1 year ago
I agree with a lot of your points, but I also think the role of PR can be broader than just connections. This has been a big debate at HubSpot. When I think about it, there are five ways a PR firm can provide value in today's world:
1) Research – find good blogs, awards, conferences, dig up info 2) Training – teach people about PR in a social media world 3) Create Content – story ideas, writing, video, audio 4) Pitching / Relationship – maybe more relevant to old media, but it does still work 5) Monitoring – make sure you comment on the right blogs and don't miss any news
Mark, Public Relations is the management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies the policies and procedures of an individual or an organization with the public interest, and plans, executes and evaluates a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance.
Craig McGill
· 1 year ago
It's good to see someone who recognises that there's more to PR than writing press releases.
GHANSHYAM DAS HARNATHKA
· 2 months ago
CONGRATULATIONS BRAVO GREAT MAYAWATIJI , YOU WILL DEFINITELY TAKE U.P TO GREAT HEIGHTS. BUT INDUSTRIAL TOWN KANPUR IS KNOWN TO BE SAME FROM LAST 25 years. please look into whole U.P.
All Comments
Adapt or Die.
Actual verbal words must be exchanged for me to catch the vision on a lot of the ideas I'm pitched. PR folks who realize this are indeed invaluable.
.. but all the best assets in the world accompanying the press release aren't necessarily going to make me write up the product if it's something I don't catch the vision for.
Unless you're into crisis management or perhaps the political scene, most (decent) PRs already know that it's already about information flow. Balance is accepted as par for the course - most of the challenge relates to cutting through the noise (of other PR) and getting your story across.
The challenge in the digital world remains the same, though many PR professionals will have to change a few ideas to get up to speed with the new emerging rules of engagement.
Of course a CEO of a two-member startup can always say 'I can blog and use Summize and contact with my customers directly on Twitter and Friendfeed.' But when you are like Google or Microsoft, it's a different ballgame altogether. People expect you to communicate and communicate well and that's the role of PR.
When you don't have a communications department in your $50 bn company, the result is utter chaos. A few of us might want to look for tweaks and news our own way here and there. But that does not make the official communications machinery obsolete.
Anything more than a two-person startup is definitely going to need a qualified PR person to accurately convey the undoubtedly complex message that is your company - and by qualified, I mean a PR person that fits the above description from my post.
On a different note, companies in crisis can also benefit a great deal from this new style of PR. I remember a couple of stories from the past 12 months in which I followed some companies heading for the deadpool, and in one case I had a great rapport with their corporate communications fellow. I was much more willing to hold stories until I got the fuller picture at his request because I knew and could trust the guy when he said a full explanation was on the way - if he hadn't taken the time to establish that relationship, I'd probably ignore what I would see as a delay-tactic and run with the story as I had it. In the end, because of a relationship that extended a bit beyond the professional mandates we both had, I had a fuller, richer story to tell and he was able to more ably perform his job for his company.
For me the role of the PR person who understands opportunities with new media is more exciting than ever before. Finally good PR professionals are able to act not just as mediators between client/company and press, but are able to truly show their worth as content creators. Granted, many of us have been doing this for years (think publications, speech writing, etc) but now the opportunities are endless. Any PR person not seizing those opportunities to create the content themselves instead of relying on the press or other bloggers to pick up on it is missing out on a world of opportunities for their clients. And any client commissioning a PR agency purely to 'do media relations' is missing a trick!
We do employ many of the techniques you outlined when promoting our clients.
If your TA is normal every-day consumers, Wal-mart shoppers, worker-bees, then you still need a brick and mortar PR company.
BTW, Michael Arrington also posted an opinion on this article today. You guys must read each others' task lists, eh? I'm getting tired of reading multiple blogs about the same bleeding topic day after day. When are we going to see some original opinion?
PR is much more than media relations or pitching bloggers. It's much more than being the conduit between a company and the media (traditional and social.) It's about been strategic on what you want to communicate, how, when and to whom. A good PR campaign can reach influencers beyond media and blogs. They can reach financial analysts, industry anlaysts, academia, legislators, partners, employees, consumers, customers, local communities, online communities, Wall Street, etc. It depends on the company business and its business goals.
If the point of your blog is that the media landscape is changing and therefore PR people need to understand it in order to provide sound counsel to their clients (regardless of whether you are in-house or on the agency side) then I agree with you. However, good PR people are much more than publicists. They know that blasting a pitch email hoping that it sticks will not work. And most importantly, it never worked (not with media in the past, not with bloggers today.)
Knowing your audiences, building relationships, crafting stories, engaging your stakeholders, and providing them with what they need is what PR is all about. Nothing new. What is changing is the complexity and the environment, which is more complex, and in my opinion, a lot more fun. Good PR is here to stay. Good PR practitioners will always find a seat at the table if they continue to do what they have been doing for years: listening, and adapting to a changing landscape.
1) Research – find good blogs, awards, conferences, dig up info
2) Training – teach people about PR in a social media world
3) Create Content – story ideas, writing, video, audio
4) Pitching / Relationship – maybe more relevant to old media, but it does still work
5) Monitoring – make sure you comment on the right blogs and don't miss any news
Read the full article about the Value of a PR Firm in a Social Media World here:
http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/426...
Public Relations is the management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies the policies and procedures of an individual or an organization with the public interest, and plans, executes and evaluates a program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance.