much broader than media relations<\/a>, there is a prevailing inclination to equate one with the other. As traditional media dwindle and the lines between marketing disciplines continue to converge, it is crucial to position PR as a revenue driver, not a cost centre. The practice of public relations, and business success in general, depends even more heavily today on leveraging insights to better understand your audiences, learning about and developing relationships with the individuals and channels in whom your audiences place their trust, and establishing connections between the two. PR professionals must be positioned as the experts in establishing this connection, not limited to media alone.<\/p>\n2. There is an incredible opportunity for brands to harness the power of their most important stakeholders and influencers<\/b>\u2014journalists included<\/b>\u2014in developing their best brand narrative. <\/b><\/p>\n
While even a few years ago it would have been verboten to \u201cbuy\u201d media coverage (unless of course it was clearly labeled \u201cadvertorial\u201d) today, there are entire companies dedicated to enabling brand leaders to buy coverage from so-called social influencers. These influencers have earned loyal followings based on their unique points-of-view and the compelling ways in which they express them (blogging, YouTube, Pinterest, etc.). And while they may have \u201cearned\u201d the right to be paid for the content they create, they\u2019ve shifted the model of media relations as a result. The promise of these influencers to reach hundreds and even hundreds of thousands of devout followers with a message, offers a comforting level of control and predictability for brands. But is the resulting content deemed credible by consumers? That is not certain. Pay-to-play transactional content may have a place in an integrated communications plan, but should not be the only pillar. Furthermore, both sides of the proverbial coin benefit from a policy of full disclosure when payment has been exchanged for content. But, while in the US it is mandated, in Canada it is not. For consumers, now more than ever, it\u2019s caveat emptor, <\/i>buyer beware.<\/p>\n
As for traditional journalism on the other hand, it\u2019s business (almost) as usual, and the line between church and state\u2014editorial and advertising\u2014is as strong as ever.<\/p>\n
As communicators, marketers, media and influencers navigate this new ecosystem, it\u2019s evident that there\u2019s room for everyone not only to co-exist, but to collaborate. Brands may not be able to control in full the messages about their brands, but by engaging one-time \u201coutsiders\u201d such as media and influencers as part of their core processes, they will benefit from a deep-seated brand narrative from which to grow their businesses. \nMedia relations is very much alive and well, but has just evolved. The rules of engagement are the same, but the playbook is considerably thicker. Most significantly, journalists and other social influencers need to be engaged at the start of the story pipeline, and not just the end. When approached in this manner, everyone benefits.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Amy’s original feature, Is Media Relations Dead?, appeared in the International Association of Business Communicators \u00a0“Communicator Magazine.” Only a few months in and already 2016 has been a dismal year for the media business in Canada. First, it was the closure of the Toronto Star\u2019s main printing plant and significant job cuts throughout its newsroom. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2510,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[196],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
From the IABC Communicator: Is Media Relations Dead? - Felicity PR<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n