This New York Times recognized social media expert is making a prediction right now that will get many PR professionals up in arms. The future for media and publicity leads services, press release distribution programs and traditional PR tactics looks bleak. These traditional services and strategies that have helped small business owners, professional service firms and thought leaders within organizations get featured, quoted and published in top publications and websites like The Wall Street Journal, CNN and Newsweek will experience a significant reduction in the quality and quantity of the PR they generate.
Now, I’m not saying that publicity lead services, press release programs and other traditional PR tactics will have a painful death as it will still be needed. I’m saying that there will be a significant drop in its effectiveness and as a result, we need to be creating a social PR program.
Why I Am Making This Shocking PR Prediction
I believe that the majority of the media will start acting like B2B buyers. Recent studies show that 50% to 70% of the buying decision is made before the B2B buyer speaks to a sales rep. They are self-nourishing and researching on social media and on blogs the content they need to make their decision.
Ninety-two percent of the media is on LinkedIn, with a majority of them regularly engaging in the different LinkedIn groups and on LinkedIn Pulse. They are able to engage with the content that thought leaders can now offer with LinkedIn’s content platform. That’s why I believe that in the near future, media professionals will have 70% of their minds made up on who they will feature, quote, interview or publish before they reach out to an organization or thought leader.
The media will be self-nourishing and selecting experts based on the content they’re finding in their social ecosystem. As a result there will be a lesser need to send queries through the different publicity lead services to connect them to experts. The media will turn to PR lead services when they have a tight deadline story – and they need an expert, like, yesterday, which means they don’t have time to complete their research on social media.
The media will be even more selective to the press releases they pay attention to. They’ll have their finger on the “pulse” of the industry they’re covering by paying attention to the discussions that are happening in social media. They’ll know what’s important to their readers, viewers and listeners and the information they need that’s not being supplied to them. And, they’ll be choosing the thought leaders and companies they feature by the content they are providing in response to the different discussions.
The Shift That PR Professionals & Organizations Need to Take
The thought leaders and organizations that invite the media to their social ecosystem – and engage them with regular content will win the new PR war. By mixing LinkedIn marketing with PR activities, I have been published or featured on websites and publications like Forbes.com, Website Magazine, MarketingProfs, Profit Magazine, RainToday and many other top business websites and publications. I’m getting featured among thought leaders like Lee Odgen in LinkedIn’s upcoming ebook for B2B marketers and I’m quoted in Bulldog Reporter’s new book on Advanced LinkedIn PR Strategies. I’m also regularly invited to do webcasts for organizations like OnlineMarketingInstitute.org.
To build relationships with the media, I am…
- Regularly creating and sharing my own content (instead of spending my time curating and sharing other people’s content).
- Going beyond industry news by providing my own insights and thought leadership advice. I am challenging the way people think or act, and I am demonstrating my expertise by creating content that is based on case studies and content that offers real value. The media doesn’t want the same old regurgitated content. They are looking for thought leaders who can provide alternative solutions and have real proof that their strategies, ideas, technologies or processes work.
- Creating discussions on LinkedIn based on the PR that I generate. Not only will you get more exposure for your articles, videos and podcasts and earn the respect of your prospects but you’ll also show other media professionals that you are media-worthy.
- Inviting key media professionals to connect and to join my Get Help with Linked Strategies LinkedIn group where the media can view my content and see my value. The editor of the Women’s Media column that published my recent article on Forbes.com at http://tinyurl.com/kjforbesarticle is a member of my LinkedIn group.
Now, are you relying on traditional PR services like publicity lead programs and traditional PR tactics like press releases and media pitching that will have an inevitable decline in their effectiveness? Or, are you creating an integrated social PR program? If you are making the shift, please share the actions you’re taking on social media sites like LinkedIn to get more publicity.
GetLinkedInHelp.com founder Kristina Jaramillo helps professional service firms (including a B2B animated video production firm that gained $36,000 in immediate profits), technology companies (like an AV integrator that serves 86% of the Fortune 100) and SMBs get more publicity, prospects and profits using LinkedIn. Listen to Kristina’s free interview recordings to learn how should be mixing content marketing, PR and LinkedIn marketing at: http://www.freelinkedinmarketingtraining.com.