Newsworthiness: New context & opportunity
for PR
Sarah Skerik
Hello.
Sarah Skerik
Vice president, content marketing
@sarahskerik
linkedin.com/in/sarahskerik
#prnewswire
Our agenda
• The media evolution: changes in information consumption & audience behavior
• Imperatives for PR • Your internal
newsmakers • New tactics &
approaches
Newsworthiness
Context
Opportunity Attention
Credibility
MEDIA EVOLUTIONThe game has changed. Has your approach evolved?
The new PR reality:We’re competing for finite
audience attention against an infinite ocean of content.
Our behavior has changed as a result...
B2B customers contact a sales rep only after 70% of the purchase decision has been made. – Sirius Decisions 2012
Study of consumers: The traditional linear path to purchase is giving way to a more winding journey. The shopper is always on” as a result of his or her constant interaction with brands. -- ARF 2013
86% of IT buyers use social media during their decision process.
89% of IT buyers prefer educational content to promotional content in their favored social media channels
Source: IDG & @chaoticflow
The buying journey is not linear.
Source: Forrester
We’re looking for really granular stuff
Social popularity drives content visibility in search engines.
SO WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR PR?
Our brands live in ecosystems & the audiences are beating hearts.
XYour audience has already busted your silos (even if your organization doesn’t know it yet.)
New imperatives for PR:
– Adapt to changing media models to generate (and measure) PR results.
– Recognize different forms of earned media, and
– Earn organic attention, outside of traditional media models, which requires
– Creating effective messaging for today’s environment.
TELL THE AUDIENCE WHAT THEY WANT TO HEAR, NOT WHAT THE BRAND WANTS TO TELL.*
* Or, at least use what the audience is interested in as the framework for the content you develop.
Then Now
Interaction
Viral Content
Influencers
Measurable outcomes
Print media pick-up
PR “stunts”
Media luminaries
Fuzzy measurement
Audience interaction gives media earned credibility
Earned Media
(Journalists,
Bloggers, Social?)
Owned Media
(Your web site, email pitches, blog, & other
channels)
Paid Media
(Press releases, advertising)
EVOLVED
When people interact with your content
Press Release
Forget viral. Popular content has a long lifespan.
Interaction is worth measuring
• The value is in amplification.
• Digital activity can be measured: – Traffic to a related
microsite)– Number of times
something was shared– Search rank– Conversions!
NEWSMAKERSFinding the stories & story-tellers
Mine your organization for interesting stories, relevant content & news opportunities.
Ask “What can the brand add to the conversation?”
Find your newsmakers*. (Okay, interesting content makers.)
• Illustrate & explain data. Marketing
• Draw back the curtain.Niche experts
• Share their perspective. Front-line teams
• Prove your worth.Customers
• Inspire your audience. Influencers
Leverage sponsored/owned content
Capitalize on interest created by breaking news (or extend a newsjack) with detailed expert commentary.
The news releases SecureState has issued to promote their blog are the second-largest source of referrer contacts for the company.
Pro tip: These are trackable URLs
TACTICSBranded content matters, as long as it’s relevant and credible.
Press releases are shared multiple times each minute on Twitter.
Employ multimedia elements.
• Visuals have their own distribution networks
• Visuals draw eyeballs• Algorithms value
visuals• People like pictures. • Better results accrue
Music
Travelers
Mom
Drive interaction by atomizing content to surface different angles & appeal to different audiences.
Entertainment
Market your messaging. Drive discovery with distribution.
Use measurable links deliberately
Align content and calls to action to your organization’s marketing funnel. (Yes. Your organization has one of these.)
Reads
Clicks
Amplification
# of specific outcomes
Use keywords, but not for the reason you might think.
200% increas
e in traffic!
Headline length really matters.
• Keep them short. Why? – Our data. (80-130)– Search engines (65) – AP system (80)– Twitter (100)
• Use a subhead to keep peers happy.
Thank you.Twitter: @sarahskerik
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/sarahskerik
Blog:http://blog.prnewswire.com/
author/sarahskerik
Promotions.prnewswire.com/NewsworthinessEbook