“New Media” buzzards have been flying around the marketing skies waiting to gnaw on the carcasses of old, traditional PR folks for several years. They are the young bucks of the industry, waiting for the Alpha Males to run out of steam. But PR is not dying, and the old-school, seasoned professionals are not going anywhere anytime soon.
Traditional media-focused PR is certainly taking its hits – newspapers, magazines, investigative reportage are all slowly changing. And many folks who worked in these fields have had to change with the times. They all explore the on-line media world, find and nurture respected industry bloggers, and start social media campaigns for clients. And the faster the industry changes, the more obvious it becomes that just knowing new technology and new media is not always enough.
Communications and messaging will only be enhanced with the new media. However, we must remember that Facebook, Linked-in and blogging are only a few elements of the communications mix – brochures, annual reports, promotions, trade shows, one-on-one briefings will be around for years to come. Communicators need to have enough experience to know how different audiences are getting information and how it is influencing their decision making process.
Another note frightening new communicators: good journalism will never go away. Even though the general public is reading shorter and shorter tweets and blogs, it does not mean everything that was taught in journalism school goes out the window. On the contrary. To be effective in the new media, we need to go back to the basics of journalism and choose our words carefully for maximum effect. If the quality of writing does not engage the new media audience, our efforts can easily be clicked into oblivion.
The key to all media – both traditional a new — is content. This is where seasoned PR folks have the most to offer. They understand how to message and create content. They understand how a client’s message fits in with the other news trends of the day and how it relates to what else is going on at the world. The key to making the most of new and evolving media is to craft great content and deliver it through the channel/media that’s most appropriate for the audience. And PR pros have been doing that for years. They bring years of writing, communicating and analytic experience to the table. While social media provides a valuable tool, the people using it need to know when and how to use it effectively. Even though a company has a facebook page or a blog, they will not necessarily meet business goals unless there is careful consideration of the principal goals of communication. New campaigns need to have strategic plans, a well-investigated knowledge of key audiences, an analysis of various communications tools, and honed skills to manage communications.
And these days, the old guys have moved into the new millenium faster than the time it will take the young bucks to get decades of experience in the field.
Phil Siegel is principal at MediaWorks and an old buzzard who has stepped into new media to offer the best PR available.
Phil Siegel MediaWorks is a comprehensive publicity agency that creates and implements innovative and strategic communications plans for our clients to meet their business goals and objectives. Founded by Phil Siegel in 1991, MediaWorks ensures that clients' voice's are heard in broadcast media, traditional print outlets and in the expanding world of social networking.
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Phil:
This is an excellent article and an outstanding point of view for us elder statesman in the communications business.
Thanks,
Gil