You think layoffs in the media world are brutal now? Well, buckle up, because we’ve only hit the first hill on the rollercoaster. Traditional media will continue to hit major dips over next three years, according to John Byrne, executive editor and editor-in-chief of BusinessWeek.com. 
I heard John speak about the “new media boom” at Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) St. Louis Chapter’s 60th anniversary dinner on Thursday night. But, it wasn’t all gloom and doom. He offered a bright spot: we’ll see a new wave of media enterprises. The crumbling of traditional news outlets, combined with a growing pool of highly talented journalists who are “on the market,” will lead to the creation of more niche news outlets online that are dedicated to developing quality content on very narrow topics.
The take-aways for us B2B PR folk:
- Brand reputation will quickly die online if you’re not proactive. John Byrne noted that online search is brand agnostic; Google essentially is working against brand equity every day. So, what’s a PR pro to do? According to Adam Singer, eventually “traditional and digital PR will merge and it will just be seen as PR,” so it’s critical for PR to help stake a claim in making brands referential – via links, sourcing and aggregation – sooner rather than later. It will only become more difficult to develop influence and trust online as digital channels continue to rise.
- Know where the influencers are. News competition is intensifying online, and new segments are emerging every moment. Know where people in your sweet spot are gathered – or, better yet, create that community yourself. For those in B2B marketing, Jeffrey Cohen’s recent post on 9 ways to find influencers, both online and offline, is a useful resource.
- PR and journalism are becoming more of a two-way street. It’s about talking “with” people, not “to” people. Social media is opening entirely new pathways to connect directly and immediately with prospects, clients and other influencers. While the pathways are new, journalists and PR professionals still share the same goals online as in print – engage with the audience.
In essence, our job will become more complicated short-term as the media world re-defines itself – and we PR professionals make social media and online brand reputation a natural part of PR strategy. But the basic rules of the game won’t change for B2B PR: (1) know your sweet spots (2) develop content that showcases your thought leadership and (3) engage – online and offline – on the issues your clients/prospects care about, which should come full circle to points 1 and 2!
What challenges are you struggling with as you embrace digital media?
(photo by Dusso Janladde)
To reach Kellie:
Email: kellie@blisspr.com
Twitter: @kshe
LinkedIn: Kellie Sheehan
11/25/2009 at 9:45 AM Permalink
Kellie – Great post and thanks for sharing the bulleted points from John Byrne, who is really one of the best in the business when it comes to transparently developing great online content for news sites.
It’s interesting that you note that our jobs in PR will become harder as more shifts and shakeups are made in journalism. I agree with you on the initial point that yes, it will become more difficult to figure out who the key influencers are within the media world. But at the same time, this opens up a whole new world of opportunities because as you point out from Byrne’s speech, there will be even more niche online news and content sites out there where we can place our B2B clients in thought-leadership roles through key bylines and op-eds, as the need for content in an online space will most likely never go away.
Additionally, I actually look at the shifting media landscape as a good thing. Yes, it’s terrible to see friends and colleagues lose their jobs, but by the same token, it has forced all of us to be much more open, honest and frankly, kind to those we are working with as we try to develop far deeper and more impactful relationships with those people we believe we can benefit from, and they can benefit from us.
In the B2B world, I am starting to see journalists and PR people, myself included, work a lot harder to find ways to benefit each other through say a PR person getting a journalist in touch with an expert on some topic to help filter through some key legislation, while the journalist is working with a PR person on another story. It’s all about creating and enhancing those mutually beneficial situations. With the drastically-altered media landscape now, we can’t afford not to cultivate and respect those relationships.
@KeithTrivitt
11/25/2009 at 2:31 PM Permalink
Kellie: Thanks for including a link to my post about finding your influencers. This is one small step in the changing nature of PR. While it has become easier to find those to reach out to, it has become harder to break through the noise of an online content explosion. Everyone needs content, but that means there are more voices speaking. Developing and cultivating your relationships is now more important than ever. The basics of PR have not changed, just the tools have changed.
Jeff
11/29/2009 at 9:21 PM Permalink
Thanks for your comment, Jeff. I agree with what you’re saying. There are so many new opportunities and ways to connect online, which is exciting and overwhelming all at once. I think “time” is one of the biggest issues many people I talk to struggle with most. It takes a decent amount of time and legwork to figure out what online venues are really worthwhile — and then to engage in a meaningful way in that space. But, the impact can be very powerful when done right.
11/29/2009 at 9:48 PM Permalink
Keith, your point about the shifting media landscape forcing us to be more open and honest is a good one. Transparency has always been critical when working with the media, and bad seeds can now be outcast more quickly — and publicly. I think you’re right — it’s our duty as PR professionals to find ways to really partner with journalists and create mutually beneficial relationships. In fact, we’ve been able to create stronger partnerships with some traditional, major news outlets by strategically cultivating online reporter relationships and helping them think through ways to make stories more interactive with readers.