Our agency recently hosted Keith O’Brien, editor of PR Week, while he was in Columbus to speak at a Central Ohio PRSA luncheon. I had the opportunity to ask him whether he sees more PR agencies developing separate social media departments or integrating social media into the organization holistically. He said it was about half and half.
At Fahlgren Mortine, we are incorporating social media into everything we do for our clients. When we meet with a prospective client, we put their business and communications objectives through our social media prism to develop the best possible program incorporating both traditional and new media strategies. To do otherwise would be leaving opportunities on the table - and this includes media relations.
Todd Defren of Shift Communications recently asked in his blog, are bloggers media? It’s a relatively simple question with a complex answer. Bloggers are like members of the media in the sense that they are important influencers and communicators. However, bloggers are not journalists - they are not bound to the unwritten code (some would say love/hate relationship) that unites members of the mainstream media and PR people. Bloggers should never be added to a media list and mass-mailed a corporate news release. They should never be “pitched” in the same way that a PR person might contact a journalist with story ideas.
Then again, should we really be mass-mailing news releases to anyone? I think those of us who practice media relations can learn a thing or two from those who excel at blogger relations. Think small, not big. Really know your contacts inside and out. Tailor pitches precisely based on all you know about the recipient. In short, let’s use social media and new media practices to not only reach out in new and better ways to bloggers and other new media influencers, but also to improve the way in which we interact with mainstream or traditional media contacts.
What do you think? Are you including bloggers in your media relations outreach? Has working with bloggers made you a better PR person in general?
