Public Relations 101
24-year-old public relations aficionado. I survive on coffee with an insane amount of creamer, frequent visits to the gym, autobiographies, and intellectual stimulation.
I may or may not have an unhealthy obsession with Law & Order: SVU and Apple gadgets
Oh yes, and these opinions are my own.
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Don’t make me your digital media strategist.
Ha! Bold words considering I’ve yet to receive a job offer, but I can’t stress this enough. Yes, I have an abundant amount of experience developing a strategic approach to digital for large companies and yes, I acknowledge I’m young and familiar with this medium, but I want to be your public relations pro and integrate this skill in my position. That being said, it’s important for PR professionals to master digital media and understand that your audience isn’t just watching TV, reading newspapers, or listening to the radio anymore. In fact, there has been a significant decrease consumption of “traditional media.”
Currently digital departments involve staff investigating new platforms, connecting with bloggers, developing strategies to enhance SEO and messaging through existing social platforms (i.e. Facebook, Twitter), and tracking analytics to get an idea of who is participating in the conversation and where. It’s a pretty broad overlook, but it’s arguably (as it varies from organization) the gist. But just as the role of the “e-mail manager” quickly disappeared and become a commodity inserted into the average Joe’s list individual responsibilities, the digital manager’s role will change dramatically as well.
Now let me be clear: Digital jobs will not be eradicated. It will merely change form. What is now about building audiences and tailoring messaging online, these tasks will be delegated to public relations, marketing, and advertising. Digital will become primarily an analytical field that will require those who understand communications but also mathematics. Their role will be condensed and more specific than it is today.
Now this is my opinion and I’m sure many community managers and friends from Syracuse U’s iSchool will disagree (and have!), but I do understand I’m not the only individual who feels this shift is eminent.
Back to my point - The separation of “traditional” mediums from digital in public relations is disheartening and will not fare well in the future of the profession. The reason I chose my current major, new media management, is to further investigate the difficulties facing media today and how to better equip myself and my organization in the long-term.
One of the best initiatives I stumbled upon derives from Time Inc. who conducted a study to investigate consumers and their emotional response to media:
Digital Natives, defined as consumers who grew up with mobile and digital technology as part of their everyday lives, switch their attention between media platforms an astonishing 27 times per hour.
The other half of the study group consisted of Digital Immigrants, people who encountered and used digital media in their adult lives, who, predictably, have a more mellow media consumption patterns.
“Technology is shaping so much of how people think about media, use media, combine media,” say Besty Frank, Time Inc.’s chief research and insights officer. “We’ve started to think about all of these changes in the media specifically as they impact the notion of storytelling. We felt that the biometrics would add a new dimension to what we knew about how people use media and what the implications are for how we run our businesses and how we and our clients communicate with consumers.”Despite differentiating opinions, what we can all attest is digital has changed the dynamics of how society interacts and consumes information. It has caused much disruption in from individuals to massive companies attempting to utilize these tools and maximizing ROI. But is it fair to call it a disruption? Or would it be more accurate to refer to it as “evolution” and their struggle to adapt? Or maybe it’s a “revolution!”
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- Bert Cooper: Young men love risks because they can't imagine the consequences.
- Don Draper: And you old men love building golden tombs and sealing the rest of us in with you. You're done, you know that right?
- Bert Cooper: So I should throw away my fortune!? I don't have the rest of my life to earn it back!
- Don Draper: I understand. I'll let you get back to sleep.
- Bert Cooper: Why do you care?
- Don Draper: Because I'm sick of being battered around like a ping-pong ball. Who's the hell is in charge!? A bunch of accountants trying to make a dollar into a dollar ten?! I wanna work! I wanna build something of my own! How do you not understand that? You did it yourself forty years ago!
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As I mentioned in my last few posts, I’m currently working with ESPN as they’re looking to expand on to new social media platforms. One of those platforms is TUMBLR! Yes Yes!
Right now we’ve launched a blog under a pseudonym to get a better idea of what content drives the most traffic to the page. What would people like to see from ESPN on Tumblr?
Please check it out and reply on this post for your comments and suggestions. (We’re currently working on activating the “Ask” function). It’s still very new and we’re getting into the rhythm and many more sports will be featured soon, but we’d love to eventually create something that sports lovers will love.
So what do you say?
P.S.
I’ll be announcing The Bank Shot Instagram page in a day or two!EDIT:
Go check out The Bank Shot on Instagram! Search: BankShotSports -
Next week, The Los Angeles Times begins charging readers for access to content on its website. The paper said the pay wall will help offset revenue declines.
The L.A. Times joins a number of other newspapers erecting pay walls, including The New York Times, Dallas Morning News, and Baltimore Sun. Gannett is building pay walls around 80 of its papers—although not its biggest title, USA Today—and the Chicago Tribune said it will soon charge for online content. -
If the network were to develop content on emerging social platforms such as Tumblr or Pinterest, how do you feel they should use it? What content would you like to see?
And for my ladies, sports is male dominated but statistics show women are expressing more interest. Is ESPN doing enough online to keep you interested? Do you feel they do enough to tailor to this demographic? -
Received VERY exciting news about a week ago that I’ll be working with ESPN this semester on a project related to their digital media efforts. Not exactly sure what this project will entail but when (or if) I’m able to publicize, I will.
I’ll be working with two heavy hitters:
- John Kosner, SVP and General Manager of Digital and Print Media
- Michael Cupo, Director of Social Media
I’m currently conducting preliminary research on their current efforts and will be meeting with my colleague some time this weekend/early-next week.
Can’t wait to get started!
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As a proponent of digital media and an avid recycler, I know I need to do a better job of investing in digital publications. Maybe it was my upbringing with two telecommunications professionals who constantly lectured me about how I put the plastic bottle in the wrong bin again? After all, what’s the point of silently cringing every time my professor prints 25 copies of an average of 5 multipage handouts each class period (Seriously dude, Adobe Reader exists for a reason!) when I receive weekly issues of New York magazine and stock up on fashion magazines at my local Barnes and Noble? I can’t fathom how many trees had to die to support my habits.
I’m not so young where I don’t appreciate the joys of flipping a page and observing how far I’ve come in my reading, but I’m not so old that I completely forgo digital content all together. In fact, I can’t remember a time when digital content wasn’t prevalent in my life. Beginning with my first experience of America Online around the dot com boom, I’ve been immersed in digital media since the tender age of seven. I remember the twinkle in my innocent eyes when my mother taught me how to use this new software. At the click of a button I could find when my favorite Nickelodeon shows were airing, pop culture news on AOL Entertainment, and even chat with other children my age (…or so I believed). Here I had a supply of what seemed to be an infinite amount of information that I could access with a few keystrokes. And trust me folks, that’s power.
So this brings me back to a discussion I had last fall in my new media business class about print media companies and their struggle to stay prevalent in a digitalized world. Why wait for my news to arrive on my porch so I have to get dressed and walk outside in the bitter cold morning when I can just pull it up on my mobile device in the comfort of my warm bed? I receive an infinite amount of content on my phone versus the limited space in a newspaper. If a story changes after 5 a.m., I’m automatically alerted on my phone but the newspaper can’t make a correction until the following day. Although to argue for print, what really separates it from online content is the desire to put quality and accuracy ahead of quantity and speed. …well, usually.
I’d suggest skipping to the 2:10 mark unless you’re interested in watching the skit in its entirety.
We’ve become so accustomed to immediate and free content that when The Daily (Available for iPad users) offers an auto-renewable weekly subscription for .99 cents, it turns us off. This example comes from personal experience. It took me one year to finally subscribe because I couldn’t understand why I should pay for content that I will probably read elsewhere. (Um, hello! Huffington Post anyone?) At the time I couldn’t justify spending $52 a year on content that I assumed was aggregated from other websites and newswires. The beauty of this publication is that much of the content is original, so I feel I’m getting my moneys worth. It also takes advantage of the iPad’s many functions and capabilities instead of simply uploading a digital copy of their magazine and flipping through the pages which can become…well, boring (Take note NY Mag). In fact The Daily is now part of my morning ritual when I’m catching up on the news. I’ve since purchased a subscription to Bloomberg Businessweek and strongly considering a digital subscription to the New York Times. It’s pretty contagious! But I still remain tactical about what I choose to download.
So now what? How do we monetize this form of media when every one article I publish, there are thousands of others on similar topics for free? How much is someone willing to pay to access content, if at all?
What I love about The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times is they’ve earned public trust, established themselves as being reliable sources for news and have made paywalls work. The New York Times for example still supplies users with free content to a certain extent. They tease the reader with a paragraph or two then force the reader to pay a modest fee if they’d like to read the rest. Enticing for sure, and proven effective!
In the end it’s not about luring people into a fee. People are way too smart and if especially savvy, can hack into your content to avoid paying (I know. I’ve done it). Content has become a commodity. It’s cheap, abundant and easily available so it’s up to the publications to establish themselves a specialty product. Sorry dude, you’re not simply a news source anymore. To survive you need to establish yourself as a thought leader in the industry and think in terms of multimedia and mobility. Stop following the same formulas. Stop copying and pasting. Diversify! Utilize creativity and establish yourself as a thought leader in the industry. THAT’S how you get people to pay. People need to view your content as original and valuable (Value = Benefits / Cost). If you’re going to become an aggregate, be the best in the industry. If you do it well, people may be willing to pay for convenience.
Yes. This actually takes effort instead of following the same tired formula. And to you Mr. 80-year-old rich publisher/editor/investor who’s been doing this for billions of years and knows the business inside and out: Guess what? There’s a reason why you had to cut half your staff and STILL folding. The world has changed significantly since you were a lad and you’re now, and may literally be, a dinosaur. Extinct.
I don’t have the answers for every single publication out there because each needs its own strategic approach and identify what elements makes it valuable to its readers. I have no doubt many will fold, but I have optimism that many will succeed. We’ll see more conglomerates sucking up the weak. And yes, “the man” is going to win in many instances, but it shouldn’t mean the end of quality journalism. It should open the doors to originality, creativity, and diversity.
Want to argue my point of view? Bring it on! Twitter @KWilsonPR
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Last night I quietly launched my new portfolio website! It took awhile to get here, but it’s up and running to full capacity. Check it out!
Many thanks to fellow Newhouse grad, Brian Brister for the photography!
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Post reblogged from ShortFormBlog
(via shortformblog)
- one It could empower action against foreign websites which, let alone actively engaging in copyright infringement, merely “facilitate” it. This could place an enormous burden on proprietors for the deeds of their random readers and commenters.
- two The definition of “facilitate?” Broadly used, “to make easier.” This is very vague, and could have serious unintended effects. For instance, does Youtube make it easier for piracy to occur? Undoubtedly. Should the site itself be liable for that?
- three Upload a copyrighted song to Youtube that nets big viewership, and you could be in deeper trouble. Each view adds to the amount a plaintiff can accuse you of costing them, racking up heavy charges (this could result in Youtube-based felony convictions). source
» A great breakdown: Mashable’s dissection of the entire SOPA bill, in case you haven’t read it, does wonders in terms of clearing up what on its face is a confusing piece of legislation. It’s a solid breakdown that cuts through the legalese.
(Source: shortformblog)
