Media in the New Millennium

posted by Doyle

I recently finished reading Putting the Public Back in Public Relations: How Social Media is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR by Deirdre Breakenridge and Brian Solis. If you’re working in PR (or just want to) and haven’t read this book yet, you’re behind, plain and simple. Deirdre and Brian set forth a vision for where I believe our industry is headed. It’s a dramatic shift (in fact, shift might be too soft of a word), but I also believe it’s a positive change.

As I read the book, I found myself wanting to discuss some points with the authors, and Deirdre was kind enough to answer a few questions for me. My questions, and her insightful answers, are below.

A special thank you to Deirdre for taking the time to continue the discussion with me. You can also read more from Deirdre on her blog.

Enjoy!

Doyle Albee: What one common PR practice would you like to see stopped immediately?

Deirdre Breakenridge: For too long, public relations professionals have been accepting corporate broadcast messages that are pushed from the top down.  We’ve also contributed to taking these messages and crafting news releases riddled with hype, spin and industry jargon that doesn’t make sense to anyone except for the executives who approved them.

There’s a much better approach; it’s a bottom up strategy that consists of listening to customers and other stakeholders in their web communities and then providing the story and information that is customized to their needs.  Today, PR professionals must help brands to see that they can have direct conversations with their customers, if and only if they stay away from the meaningless broadcast messages.  Brands must focus on helping people to gather, share and organize information to make informed purchases.  I would like to see PR professionals put the public back in public relations and that means abandoning a broadcast message mentality and truly taking a one-on-one approach that lets you listen and engage with people to build a strong relationship.

DA: What positive practice do you see many practitioners still doing too little of?

DB: There are PR professionals who are solely relying on Internet and social media communications rather than picking up the telephone to talk to the media or other important influencers.  Technology makes it so easy to forget about the human voice connection.  However, it’s critical to take all of the digital connections and turn the virtual into physical reality.  After all, the best outcome of social networking is a meeting with a blogger or influencer, whether it’s on the telephone or in person.

Human interaction will always be the most important means to truly build a relationship, which takes time and commitment.  Sure, a lot of progress can be made via the Internet.  For example, Brian Solis and I wrote our entire book without ever meeting in person.  There was a lot of email and IM back and forth as well as social networking.  But, the bottom line… when we met in person that’s when the relationship grew and reached new heights.  Today, Brian and I are on the telephone, at conferences presenting together and working both online and offline to promote our book.

So, as practitioners, although we have to keep up with our Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn status updates, it’s imperative that we move these interactions forward.  Pick up the phone or meet in person; that’s the point where the friendship is validated and it becomes even stronger.

(DA: This answer really struck a chord with me. We have a saying here at Metzger: To make something happen, you have to pick up the phone. As Deirdre notes, much can happen through e-mail, IM, etc., but practitioners that won’t pick up the phone — or meet in person — and have a conversation will be less successful than those who use all the tools.)

DA: Many studies show consumers prefer reviews by peers over professionals. As a result, the number of “reporters” we need to communicate with just increased 1,000-fold or more. What are some ways to both identify likely reviewers and also to provide them with services formerly reserved for members of the media, especially given the sheer potential volume?

DB: Consumer behavior has shifted; news gathering habits have changed so that consumers are finding new ways to get their information, more from new influencers and less frequently from mainstream media.  This poses an interesting challenge for a brand that has relied on PR professionals to spearhead their media relations programs.  Because the influence of a blogger often trumps traditional media authority, brands must find the right influencers to connect with in order to reach and build relationships with groups of people in web communities.  A great tool to start your search for influencers is the Conversation Prism by Brian Solis and Jesse Thomas.  The Conversation Prism breaks down the entire social media landscape and groups different social networks together.  Through keyword searches in the different networks, a brand can listen, observe and identify conversations related to its brand and to its target world.  After listening and dissecting the conversations, it’s easy to see where there is frequency, relevance and a reason to engage with the right influencers.  Through participation with bloggers you can become a helpful resource and provide meaningful information that can be shared by these individuals to other members of the community.  Ultimately, you are taking a one-to-one approach to building a relationship so that your brand communication can be shared one-to-many.

DA: What are some strategies for dealing with some of the problems social media can bring. For example, what if one of my competitors is putting false negative reviews on Yelp? Sometimes the community will take care of things, but not always. What kinds of tactics would you recommend?

DB: Brands are approaching this challenge in different ways.  I personally don’t think it’s a good idea to go into Yelp or Get Satisfaction to comment, if someone leaves a negative review.  The reaction by the brand may be seen as a defensive strategy, rather than a helpful way to clear the air or a means to give the right information.  Some companies prefer to monitor the information and then allow people who post negative reviews to contact them directly, but privately.  Most companies are learning from the information that is shared on these customer service sites and take it back to their own service teams or to other areas of the company, which is probably the best approach.  It’s really important that you do something with the information.  That is the key to moving forward to make sure that the issue or concern does not affect more customers.  You’re also sending a strong message to your community that actions speak a lot louder than words.

DA: Finally, who do we know to trust with information? TMZ was first with Michael Jackson’s death, but many didn’t really believe it until the LA Times reported the story. While the mainstream media certainly has faults, as a public, we at least knew there were professional journalists, editors and even attorneys reviewing stories. Now, it can be just a guy in his basement. He may get it right, but how do we know? What are some ways you validate voices?

DB: There has been a tremendous shift in trust, from traditional media to new influencers.  However, I think we started to see a shift on the traditional media side years ago when large news outlets, whether they were highly regarded newspapers or TV network news anchors, did not report stories accurately. And, because the media certainly has faults, since then, I’ve relied on several media sources for accuracy in reporting.

Now that social media communications has taken a prominent stage, I guess the same could be said about evaluating the authority of the blogger, identifying which parties are the ones you can trust most for accurate information.  Blog search engines, including Technorati and IceRocket, allow you to see a blogger’s influence, ranking and authority based on his or her posts and the reaction from their communities. However, it is important to realize that there is a difference between the way a journalist is trained and the journalist’s Code of Ethics vs. how a blogger reports on news and information.  Here’s a brief excerpt from my and Brian’s book, Putting the Public Back in Public Relations, that discusses the differences:

“Many bloggers are now privy to valuable information that was once the sole domain of traditional news media. That access, combined with the ability to instantly publish information, means bloggers are scooping reporters more often than not. Let’s be fair, though. As we pointed out at the beginning of this chapter, the best journalists are in a completely differently league than most bloggers. They’re trained in the art and science of journalism, they adhere to values and ethics that bloggers are only starting to think about, and they understand the differences between fact and opinion and the value of sources and fact checking. Although many journalists have successfully crossed over to blogging, citizen media has blindsided newspapers, magazines, broadcast journalists, and the parent media companies and networks, causing them to lose mindshare.”

I think, moving forward, we will see a combination of sources when it comes to accuracy in reporting.  Of course, it’s a matter of personal preference if you check to see what your favorite bloggers are saying first and then check out how mainstream media is reporting an event, or vice versa.

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