The Changing Face of PR

The Changing Face of PR
Electronic Retailer Magazine
October, 2008

The world of PR is changing at light speed. Long gone are the days of sharing story scoops over a three-martini lunch, mass-faxing press releases to editors and journalists and the enormous “power of the press” being controlled by a few large newspaper empires.

Today’s PR environment is about social networks, online expert sources and web-induced story deadlines measured in seconds or minutes, rather than days or hours.

Furthermore, traditional PR tactics are experiencing a diminishing return. As Lyn Mettler of Mettler Public Relations observes, “I see an steadily reduced emphasis on the importance of traditional media in getting the word out about a company. Over the last five years, I have seen a great decline in the response my clients get to stories placed in even major media outlets. A few years ago, an article in The New York Times would result in dozens, sometimes hundreds of inquiries. Today, it may generate a handful at best. It seems a story on websites such as CNN.com or the Engadget blog is much more beneficial today.”

So what exactly is an e-retailing company supposed to do in order to get a little PR “juice” in today’s world? What tools and techniques can be leveraged to help you get the word out about your product or service?

To see what’s new, as well as what’s on the horizon, I did a little publicity of my own and put the word out to some of the top PR experts in the business for input. Following are the key issues, tools and strategies these experts wanted you to know about.

PR IS NOW “ONE ON ONE”

“The biggest change in the public relations industry is the ability to bypass traditional gatekeepers and communicate directly with consumers, prospects, reporters and bloggers,” says Valerie Jennings of Jennings Public Relations and Advertising. “It’s caused a transformation in the PR landscape, from one in which PR professionals were completely dependent on journalists, to a collaborative effort between the PR practitioners, citizen journalists and the general public. As a result of the social media revolution, there are endless avenues to deliver any message to niche markets and communities.”

PR MOVES FASTER THAN EVER

In today’s world, news happens fast, and the reporting of the news sometimes happens even faster. David Burrows from Fzzz! Media says the biggest change he has seen in recent years is this speed. He elaborates: “With tens of thousands of bloggers covering thousands of subjects, news happens and is reported in minutes. Decades ago, CNN gave us instant access with 24/7 reporting on television.” But even that’s not fast enough for today’s information junkies, Burrows notes. “Those classic relationships between newsmakers and reporters or editors have now moved into relationships–with almost instant communication–with top bloggers and other influencers.”

“The strategy of the PR professional has shifted as a result of the rise in credibility of the blogosphere, with the top news sources relying heavily on its new and emerging content,” says Jennings. “The online landscape now incorporates news and web communities, social networks, video sites and much more.”

SOCIAL MEDIA IS CHANGING PR

In the Spring 2008 issue of Online Strategies, I discussed how social networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn are impacting marketing. The reach and impact of social networks are having a profound effect on PR as well.

According to Jerry Grasso from GrassoPR, “You don’t have to be big to be relevant. If you have something to say, and the communication tools to help you say it with passion, then you have as much of a chance as any established media outlet of becoming a ‘guru’ in a niche area or interest–or of generating interest in your company. That’s the power of the Internet, blogging and social media.”

And it doesn’t matter how established your company is, or how full its coffers may be. “It isn’t about marketing budgets or media flights–it’s all about content and consistency,” Grasso continues. “If you have the best content, the most insightful and compelling information about a solid company that really performs for its customers or strives for its clients, you can play on a pretty even playing field with the likes of WalMart and GE by utilizing blogs and social networks.”

CASE STUDY: USING FACEBOOK TO CREATE PR BUZZ

David Peck, associate vice president of university relations at Azusa Pacific University offers the following case study of the recent release of the Miley Cyrus album “Breakout.”

Miley Cyrus and Disney demonstrated effective use of these new tools of engagement with the launch of her new song and album. On May 14, 2008, Radio Disney played the “planet debut” of her new song, “7 Things.” The album, however, was not scheduled for release until July 22, 2008. But Radio Disney and Miley Cyrus made the decision to create pre-release excitement by featuring the debut of the song on Radio Disney, and then posting an option to hear the song on her Facebook group page, which lists more than 107,000 fans. From a strategic standpoint, it made sense to release the song and album artwork, starting the excitement while students were still in school, encouraging them to talk about it for a month or so before the official release. Roughly two weeks later, more than one million people had listened to the song on YouTube alone, not including those who may have listened on Facebook, MySpace and Cyrus’s own website.

PRESS RELEASES ARE NO LONGER JUST FOR REACHING JOURNALISTS

Anecdotally, journalists tell me they trash 90 percent of unsolicited press releases sent to them via fax or e-mail. So if all of the thousands of press releases written every day aren’t being read by journalists and editors, what is the point of writing and distributing them? “Press releases are being used for search engine opti­mization,” says Robert Blodgett of CRVisions Communications. “The days of press releases being used strictly for announcing news are dead. Now press releases are an effective way of improving a company’s web ranking and search engine traffic.” By publishing the releases online, you’re achieving the dual goals of boosting your website on the search engines and delivering your news directly to individuals interested in the topic who are searching on the relevant keywords. No journalist required.

PR GOES SELF SERVICE

We have self-service gas pumps, bank tellers (in the form of ATMs) and grocery check outs–so why not self-service PR? Some businesses are wondering the same thing. “More and more businesses want to do it themselves and not use a publicist or PR agency,” observes Whitney Keyes of Whitney Keyes Productions. And why not? The news outlets are going direct-to-consumer, so there is no reason the newsmakers can’t go direct to the news outlets.

A prime example: This article was researched, in part, by reaching out to experts via social media and asking for input on the changing face of the public relations industry. In just one day, more than 50 people responded with ideas, information and quotations of potential interest to the readership. In the “old days,” reaching that many experts on a topic would have been a difficult, time-consuming and exhausting process. But thanks to a couple of new and innovative online tools, finding experts was a breeze.

The first tool I used was the “Answers” tool on LinkedIn. By posting my request for info on how PR has evolved to my network of connections, I posed my questions to almost 20 million people.

The second tool I used was Help A Reporter–a service recently started by Peter Shankman. Help a Reporter is a free service that connects experts, academics, business people and company PR executives with journalists and news outlets. As an example of just how fast things are changing in the PR world, consider this: In just 5 short months, Shankman has grown Help A Reporter to more than 25,000 members! If you are seeking PR placement for your company, a subscription to this service is a must. (Similar services such as PR Leads and ProfNet are also recommended resources for reaching top journalists and news outlets with your message.)

Whitney Keyes sums up the self-service trend by stating, “Over the next few years, we’ll see more businesses doing PR themselves–everything from writing press releases to making pitch calls about their news. With all of the accessibility and transparency happening online now, businesses won’t be intimidated about contacting the media. Connecting is easy. As more and more people become citizen journalists and bloggers, the old, hard lines between the powerful journalist and the relatively powerless business person (especially from a new or unestablished company) will start to break and opportunities for media coverage will increase.”

WHAT’S ON THE HORIZON FOR PR?

So what does the future hold for the rapidly evolving world of public relations? “I see more niche social networks being set up and more PR companies hiring people as ‘virtual brand ambassadors,’ or ‘conversation agents’ to keep an eye on what trends the customers are gravitating toward and how the clients can move into that space,” predicts John Carson of gcigroup.

The growth of online video is also expected, and PR experts expect it to impact their business, as well. According to Ed Lamoureaux of WestGlen Communications, “Video is already surpassing text online as the most sought-after form of communication for consumers. Video tracking and monitoring, as well as more video micro-syndication channels will continue to push multimedia PR to the top of the online PR professional’s toolset.”

And, of course, any discussion of the future of digital commerce wouldn’t be complete without acknowledging the incredible growth potential of mobile. “The use of mobile marketing in the form of text messaging to deliver videos and podcasts in order to drive traffic to websites will be a huge factor in future PR efforts,” says Valerie Jennings. “Public relations in the United States is rapidly falling behind that of other countries which already use mobile marketing as a primary means of communication with their audiences. The PR industry needs to understand this medium in order to effectively communicate overseas now–and in the U.S. in the near future.”

CHANGE–AT A COST?

Certainly, the PR business has undergone a sea change. But is all this change for good or ill? It depends on your perspective.

It’s true that companies have more–and more effective–ways of reaching their target audience and shaping their brand with the right messaging. And, as mentioned above, it can be accomplished faster than ever before.

But these factors also carry a downside. “Having more ‘reporters’ and ‘newspeople’ in the form of bloggers and YouTube users is great for speed and the sheer variety and breadth of information,” says Burrows. “But is tends to translate into less probing and intelligent inquiry into any given story, leading to ‘sound-byte news,’ and one-dimensional perspectives. There’s also a ‘lemmings’ approach to accepting and forwarding un-researched information which is then reported as ‘news.’”

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