All of the attention on “social” and “new media” as well as the general opinion that the “old-fashioned newspaper is dead” have created a sense of abandonment among us traditional public relations professionals. It’s not that we don’t experiment and embrace change, of course we need to be open and positioned to capitalize on all communications opportunities, but particularly here in Vermont, if we desert our traditional skills and media relationships, our messages will miss a large portion of the public.
It may be “old fashioned,” but here in Vermont community newspapers, radio stations, and public access TV channels are still key sources of information. The reason for this is somewhat obvious — in rural states such as ours the technological infrastructure has not yet been established in many areas, hence social media and sophisticated and fast websites simply don’t reach many households (yet). Community news outlets also serve to document what happens among neighbors; a function mass media will never be able to fulfill. (Who doesn’t scoop up copies of the paper when a photo of their child winning the school science fair appears?) For this reason, print and broadcast advertising (“paid” media) will never be “dead.”
But “earning” media attention still requires conventional (and tried and true) work efforts such as thorough research, solid and professional writing, polite persistence, timeliness, and relevance. There are several pundits who have nicely summarized the “Dos and Don’ts” of pitching stories to the media, including this post by Susan Friedmann.
From a PR perspective, it all boils down to building relationships by identifying the correct journalist and sending the correct message, at the right time. So, despite the fact that “traditional” hard work is the substance and backbone of public relations, there is never a guarantee that your message will be picked up and distributed. Think about all of the variables PR professionals must contend with:
• Breaking and competing news stories
• Media staffing shortages and conflicting schedules
• Competition from other sources
• Deadlines
All of these elements are beyond our control — so even if we do everything “right,” our story may never see the light of day. So when you see that your PR professional got you coverage, in a local newspaper, trade publication, or in the national media, recognize that there was a nice confluence of events as well as a little sweat behind that two columns of print.
There is a very well known “social media guru,” Peter Shankman, who visited Burlington last year. He was an interesting and funny speaker, and despite his knowledge and insights in all things related to “new media” — I loved how he reminded us that we still need to be solid writers and show our colleagues in the media general courtesy and respect. (You can read one of his rather sarcastic blog posts here.) During his Vermont presentation, he discussed how he had recently completed a review of numerous job applicants and was appalled that many included abbreviations and jargon used in text messages in their cover letters. I found it so refreshing that even an expert in “new media” expects (and needs) old-fashioned, conventional skills.
So, as I look forward to the new opportunities that social media offers to communicate in a two-way fashion, it’s nice to know that some of the tried and true methods used in traditional PR can and will still play a large part.
