March 22, 2018
Last week, members of the LCWA team attended the Publicity Club of Chicago’s monthly luncheon that focused on the topic of how digital media and social channels are changing public relations. An expert panel, including representatives for LinkedIn and CBS 2 Chicago, led the discussion on how brands can be effective in this changing landscape. Here are some of the key takeaways from the session:- Facebook is the best platform for a combination of business and personal, but the panel predicted that that LinkedIn will see growth due to Facebook’s shrinking focus on news and publishers. Some panel members also find that Reddit AMA’s are helpful for reporters, and Facebook and Instagram were noted as having the best ad capabilities.
- The panelists agreed that pitching media may shift even more to social channels in coming years. Reporters appreciate targeted (and relevant) info or video that’s sent via Twitter, and may more readily interact with a Tweet than a phone call or e-mail. No matter what the channel, it’s advised to tell a story to media contacts instead of simply pitching.
- Influencer marketing is already a new face of media, and will continue to present huge opportunities for brands.
- In the future, the panel predicts that print and traditional TV as we know them will be gone, with an even bigger shift to shareable and consumable content. Journalism will continue its evolution but maintain a hold at the local level, and newspapers will shift more content online and continue to operate under subscription services.
- Digital media pet peeves of the panelists include content that isn’t customized for the platform, content masked as news, and poor-quality video.
Overall, this panel focused on the shift of traditional media to digital media and how brands can stay on top of this evolution. The panelists encouraged constant learning about these digital channels as they always have updates and changes, and stressed that as PR professionals, we need to stay ahead of the curve, not on it.