Mark Rose is asking all the right questions. In his post on the recently launched Google Sidewiki, he asks:
- What’s your social media PR strategy?
- What’s your Wiki strategy (Wikipedia, Wikimedia, Google Sidewiki)?
- What is your social media news creation and delivery mechanism?
He goes on to point out how PR is no longer about getting coverage and is, instead, about “How do we impact our audience through our own media?”
Exactly!
That point came up, albeit obliquely, during the PR panel at the recent Web Innovation Night in Boston. I’m not going rehash it all here (you can read several good posts on the topic) but anyone trying to market their organization or product, especially those in the entrepreneurial realm, needs to look beyond coverage and take a hard look at their assets.
- Do we have a passionate spokesperson who can produce content?
- What channel is best for reaching our audience?
- How do we access those channels and become involved in conversations?
This isn’t to dismiss the importance of media relations. It is certainly an important part of any outreach program, though here at Fresh Ground we include media relations under the heading of “influencer relations,” as the tactical implementation of reaching out and setting up briefings is the same whether it’s a journalist, blogger, analyst or any other individual who has broad influence.
But for most companies, the days of paying a big retainer just to try to get in the press on a regular basis is over. The ecosystem of media that existed to support this idea has changed drastically, leaving companies with a need to shift how they approach their PR.