In days gone by, if a PR practitioner wanted to attract the attention of the media they would put together a press release or media kit and distribute accordingly.
Hopefully the release and/or kit was well crafted - relevant, timely and professionally written - thus increasing the chances of landing some exposure for the company or client involved.
This method still holds true today and is particularly powerful if the approach is personalised by way of a direct (phone/email) pitch - if the practitioner has a strong and relevant story, the chances of getting editorial start to improve, particularly if the PR person can re-shape the angle while chatting with the journalist or producer (if and as required).
While it's always been important for PR practitioners to be as adept as journalists in fleshing out a suitable angle and writing the bones of the story itself, our profession is now in an enviable position of communicating directly with the people who matter most to our business, cause or issue.
Every brand can now run its own (online) TV network, radio station and magazine or newspaper. Pretty cool, huh?
While it remains important for many companies and organisations to gain media coverage, we now have additional options (text, images, video, audio etc) available to us thanks to various online platforms and the social web.
What does this mean? If we pitch a story idea to media outlets and they don't 'bite', all is not lost - we can take our story directly to the people.
Of course this isn't as simple as just whacking up a press release on your blog and hoping it will be seen by thousands of people. In all likelihood, that ain't gonna happen (unless you're a major brand with a massive online following).
Brands wanting to go down the path of creating and distributing their own content need a plan that's strategically sound as well as pragmatic in its execution. However, that's the subject of another post or two!
Journalists are always on the look-out!
Ironically, while a brand's content marketing efforts is an effective way to bypass the media 'filter' and instead take their message directly to the people, it's also important to remember that journalists are always on the look-out for stories, photo opportunities and potential interview material.
Ongoing budget cuts to newsrooms and editorial departments means many journalists today have increased workloads compared to several years ago. Not only that but their deadlines are getting tighter if online is brought into the equation.
'Walking the beat' is increasingly being replaced by bouts of desk research; often this research will include monitoring the social web (for example, Sky News) for news and story ideas and industry personalities who can provide expert commentary on a specific topic or issue.
Depending on the industry or sector covered by the journalist, this scenario provides PR people with a raft of opportunities they've never before had.
If you have a strong digital footprint - if your brand's presence on the social web is deep and lively - then there is an increased chance at some stage you may catch ('earn') the attention of journalists covering your sector, in turn leading to editorial coverage in 'traditional' mediums.
WHAT DO YOU THINK? I'd love to hear from the media as well as PR people!
PR PEOPLE - I'd be interested to hear from you whether the (individual or corporate) brand/s you represent have been approached by the media because of the strong presence they have on the social web.
MEDIA - And journalists/editors/producers - I'd love to hear how much monitoring of social media you do. Have you ever sourced material from an individual (high profile online 'personal brand') or representative of an organisation that is particularly active on the social web? I'm sure it will vary from individual to individual (and media outlet to media outlet) but it would be interesting to see if there is a trend forming in this space.
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