Public Relations – Traditional Power

Notably, one of the most important criteria for companies hiring a PR firm these days is traditional media expertise. A socially savvy PR agency is essential, but successes with key business and trade publications have become an elevated priority. There are a few reasons I think why this will continue as trend in 2011:

Unsurpassed Reach: Traditional media still rules in terms of reach and influence. Even the most popular, widely trafficked business websites are still operated by traditional media (Wall Street Journal, NY Times, Forbes, etc). The same holds true for industry trade publications.

Credibility: The best and most widely respected writers still work for traditional media. The journalism quality found in traditional media is much higher level than all content in the bloggersphere. A feature in Forbes still carries more weight than a blog mention.

Merchandisability: A great feature article can be framed, reprinted, packaged and put into a sales kit. A print or video broadcast article also provides good content for social media seeding.

Resource Management: Social media management is very time consuming for an agency and can takes a big chunk out of the retainer. Companies are increasing their social media capabilities and have to focus a PR agency’s priorities.

A PR firm’s value is their ability to generate publicity among an organization’s target audience and influencers; efforts to over-play social and downplay traditional may backfire and may actually alienate companies seeking balanced expertise. Companies have to determine priorities, where a PR agency can add the most value and how to maximize the retainer. It will come down to finding the right balance…