Media lists: Still important? You bet.

Mar 21, 2013 by

Media lists: Still important? You bet.

With social media increasingly dictating our communication methods, and becoming an increasingly integral cornerstone of our client communication strategies, it is far from unknown that a paradigmatic shift is in the midst of taking place from earned media and the more traditional media relations service to a greater emphasis on self-content creation or so-called ‘owned media’. Indeed journalists are not as integral to the success of our communications as they have been in the past. The annual benchmarking survey from CIPR, 2012/2013 State of the Profession, shows that 52% of budgets are spent on media relations, and that less than a third of the survey’s respondents hold journalists within their most influential contacts.

So what does this mean then? Sure, getting a journalist to write a story is, thankfully, no longer the be all and end all, and this is partly due to the value of earned media no longer resting wholly on their shoulders. The opinion leaders of the digital social age; the social networkers, bloggers, and online communities writing to large online audiences on differing niche subjects, represent a new age of influencers that are invaluable resources in accessing certain markets. So yes, media relations has and is certainly still changing, but only the naive would suggest it will phase out completely. Of course, PR is far much more than press and media relations, it is about communicating with the audiences that matter to our clients. But as our audiences still gorge on media (for example the increase of television viewing despite forecasted decreases due to the birth of mobile), media relations must still be involved in the strategy mix, with PR campaigns of the future most likely to continue to include a blend of strategies depending on the communication behaviours of our audiences.

The media list has always been a hugely valuable asset to any practitioner when it comes to media relations and earned media, but why does an up-to-date media list hold greater value now than before the advent of digital?

1)      Media fragmentation: An ever-expanding number of communications channels and mediums put greater pressures on list creation and maintenance to ensure opportunities are not squandered. This great graphic simply shows the immense fragmentation to take place within social media alone.

2)      Niche media: With new technologies allowing the proliferation of new publications and outlets, those that are specific to certain sectors and interests are growing, representing great opportunities for targeted communications. Keeping track of those relevant to your clients is integral.

3)      Movers and shakers: The dynamic nature of the landscape means that not only do new outlets emerge all the time, but contacts are seemingly constantly on the move. It is more important than ever to keep track of who is writing about what and where.

4)      Increased ‘Groundswell’: There are an increasing number of content creators contributing via social media and particularly social networks in the form of microblogs. Keeping track of blogs/microblogs with subjects and topics bearing relevance to clients, particularly those of high rank, is essential. Tools such as Klout and blogrank are a couple of the many helpful tools measuring rank and influence.

5)      PR Interns: Allocating media list creation and maintenance to entry-level graduates is a means of excellent training. With the opportunity to make important contacts from the word go, the budding interns and executives are able to acquire expert knowledge of the media landscape.

Without a continually updated media list, it is practically impossible for media relations services to not only operate successfully, but to simply keep up with the dynamic media landscape. It certainly isn’t easy to react effectively to a national story relevant to one of your clients, or any other method of inbound media relations for that matter! Hard graft it certainly is, but graft that is fruitful. Particularly for those new to the industry, occupying those intern and entry level positions, who are handed some excellent experience in undertaking these tasks. To all those in internships and entry-level positions, try not to groan too much, you’ll be thankful in the years to come!

David Bertram, March 2013

 

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