Old Media and New Media, including social networks, press releases and search engine optimization (SEO) are fighting a war of attrition - and the smart money is on New Media to win, eventually. But at this point in time, they're neck and neck on the battlefield and the leaders of public relations will know how to work with both.
Digital online content swept the media world for the first decade of the twenty-first century like a grass fire consuming old growth in its path. Old Media, such as, newspapers, magazines, broadcast radio and television, has relatively high production values and controlled distribution. Above all else, Old Media is programmed, which means it's vetted, fact-checked and less speculative. On the other hand, New Media, by which we mean the Internet and the Internets intercept with targeted cable television is on demand, raw or refined, multi-platformed and always open for business. When a press release takes off in New Media, they tend to break in a big way because the audience becomes the promoter, linking to the story on blogs and Facebook pages, and e-mailing it to their entire address book. What was once water cooler gossip in the days of Old Media is now heard around the world. This particular phenomenon is called viral buzz.
In Old Media, a relatively small number of gatekeepers control the information flow. Cultivating relationships with these gatekeepers - whether you want a story to run or stop dead in its tracks - is of critical importance to the success of any public relations strategy.
The advent of the Internet created not only a new promotional medium for public relations, but also a new approach. On the Internet there are almost no barriers to entry. Every webmaster is a potential gatekeeper. The information is out there - and caching tools means it's out there forever. However, promoting any particular piece of information can be daunting. There are well over a hundred billion websites. But the Internet has developed a number of tools to narrow cast to segmented interest groups. Chief among these is the search engine.
A search engine is a computer program that uses mathematical formulas to seek patterns within content. The exact algorithm may vary from one search engine to the next, but generally relies upon some combination of meta tags, key words, external links and the position of elements on the web page itself. SEO is the art and science of assuring results by customizing your website or press release with hidden content that will score high on search engine probability indices. However, just optimization isn't enough. The most successful websites and press releases also utilize search engine ad word buys and reciprocal links to lure traffic. The rise of so-called social media brought yet a new personalization twist, further refining narrow casting through the use of browser cookies that reflect the search history of the person using the browser. It's very possible that two people typing the same search term into the query box will get widely divergent pages of results.
So what does this mean for PR? It means PR professionals should understand both Old and New Media inside and out. Further, if you're really good at it, you'll marry the two and find ways utilize each with help from the other.
Reformat your traditional press releases. Your traditional ones will not work on the Internet. If you want your press release to find an Internet audience, it must contain those triggers that guarantee search engine pick-up and distribution to your target demographic, while finding ways to be creative. Find ways to connect your keyword saturation.
Write for both New and Old Media at the same time. This makes a lot of sense: the most cost-effective strategy for any business is the creation of quality content that can be repurposed effectively both on and off the web.
Submit articles. Search engines are not the only way to distribute information across the web. Many members of your target audience have favorite sites they rely on for news and information. Don't forget to submit your content to these appropriate sites and articles directories.
Do social media bookmarking. Watch for community forums, blogs, message boards and content-centric sites and match the elements of your client and work them to get your messages out.
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