The Future of PR is Participation, Not Pitching

The PR business has long put a premium on strong media pitching skills, especially at the junior and mid levels. All you need to do is scan the help wanted ads and you will see what I mean. However, pitching is on its way to becoming a lost art because the landscape is changing rapidly.

Communities like Facebook, the blogosphere and digg are becoming even more influential than certain traditional media outlets.Their relevance to PR pros is rising and the industry is responding by wisely trying to beef up its new media acumen.

Unfortunately, the biz is not evolving quickly enough. Many in PR seem to be treating Web 2.0 as simply an extension of the traditional media - another venue for buzz. They are pumping thousands of email pitches into the community every day. I know because I receive hundreds of these emails every day, as do many other bloggers I have spoken to over the last several weeks. Some are good, most are not. And many are getting fed up.

Journalists are accustomed to the PR mating dance. They know that as soon as they get a desk, a phone and an email address they're going to get bombed with inquires from PR pros. Some of these will be helpful, others won't be. Journalists know that PR inbound is an occupational hazard that comes with the territory.

Online social networks and communities are completely different. Bloggers, social networkers, diggers, social bookmakers and Wikipedians don't want to be pitched. They're collaborating on these sites for a reason - to share, be entertained, to become informed, to connect, etc. They place value on people who contribute regularly and selflessly.

Further, the lines between old and new media are blurring. Community is becoming a river that flows through virtually every web site, The media is adding social networking features while also embedding itself into big horizontal hubs like Facebook or Twitter. They have embraced changed faster than we have.

To thrive in this new distributed environment, the PR community must step out in front of the curtain, become a bit more technically adept and participate transparently as individuals in online communities. We will have to openly collaborate and add value to the network and help the companies we represent do exactly the same.

My fear? If we continue down our current path PR will lose any credibility we have left with the public and the industry could one day cease to exist. However, if Darwinism creates change then I am all for it.

Comments

[cat dirt]

Re:Online social networks and communities are completely different. Bloggers, social networkers, diggers, social bookmakers and Wikipedians don't want to be pitched.

Hello, I'm a 30 year old myspace user/local blogger, and I just wanted to say that I flatly disagree with the above analysis. It may be correct to say that those folks don't want to be pitched by say... Coca Cola or Nike, but I think they are most amenable to "pitching" by people with like interests.

I would add that unlike traditional pr, which relies on a series of interaction over time between pr pros and jornos, social network types really don't care about the messenger, just the subject matter.

[Steve Dragoo]

Steve, my take is that your post is timely, very interesting and on target. I work with quite a few 20-somethings and all are active on social networks. The key to reaching them (according to them) is to be transparent (no "shills" wanted), show genuine interest in their needs, and offer relavant solutions to their product/service needs. The proper use of these enablers--respectfully and appropriately is an emerging opportunity for marketers and manufacturers.

[David Brain]

"If we continue down our current path PR will lose any credibility we have left with the public and the industry could one day cease to exist." I agree with a lot of what you say Steve, but the apocalyptic stuff is a bit heavy and the industry is so much wider and deeper than just media or social media relations.

[Richard Stacy]

Long term - I don't think PR as we know it has a future. The name of the game is going to be about understanding communities, producing upwards story feeds that bounce around and get absorbed by these communities and hosting the incoming interest and conversation generated by individuals who track the content back. That's more than just participation and could it be called PR? Who knows.

I've said more about this here: http://richardstacy.wordpress.com/2007/04/10/pr-is-dead/

[nesh thompson]

PR IS about participation but it has always been like that. Pitching to a person face to face requires contact, interaction, relationship and agreement. You wouldn't approach a real world situation like a spam email by demanding payment in a first conversation, so why would you expect it on the web. Even direct PR relies to a certain extent on an extraneous relationship from another area.

[Jon Greer]

Great post Steve. I followed up on it on my blog (www.21stcenturymediarelations.com) and made the following point: I do not believe that the media has embraced social media faster than PR. From my vantage point, the major media remain largely locked into their pre-Internet business models and are hanging on to them for as long as possible. And furthermore, the journalists who populate these outlets are of the same mindset.

Which is why, in the end, we need to continue to pitch them the “old way,” because that’s what they are comfortable with. Not that we can’t also generate awareness and placements using social media. But we’re nowhere near the tipping point.

[Matt Hamilton]

PR pros really have to be versatile these days. When dealing with journalists, they had a set of expectations and ground rules based on years of interaction.
Online, they might need to connect with a company spokesperson, an influential blogger or an expert in a niche so small, it's not even their full time job.
Thanks for the article.

[Mike Kilroy]

I'm with a high-tech boutique PR firm that is trying to understand our role in digital media. I'm reading the blogs like this and the books. I have to say, though, when I go to sites like facebook and myspace, it all seems like one big dating arena and young people with a lot of time on their hands. Obviously, that's an early impression but I don't see yet where anyone would be interested in anything but the opposite sex on these sites.

[Jeremy Toeman]

Great post Steve - I knew sooner or later we'd agree on something! With the exception of the Twitter reference that is... :)

[Steve Rubel]

Jeremy T, now if I the other Jeremy were to agree with me on the same day maybe that would be a sign that it's time for me to pursue a career as a professional football player or coach.

[zeus jones]

Excellent post, and it's clear these observations go beyond PR to marketing as a whole. In fact this observation was key in designing our startup Zeus Jones to be positioned to be a participant ourselves and to put us in a positiont to help brands participate instead of merely trying to say things to those who are participating. It's an interesting puzzle for sure.

http://www.slideshare.net/zeusjones/zeus-jones-credentials/

[Les Blatt]

I agree with most of what you say, Steve, but I would argue that participation is, in fact, the "new" form of pitching, as far as most forms of new media go - and an acceptable form. As I argue over on my blog, many bloggers who want to keep up with an industry or a trend depend on the kind of information that a good PR person or other company spokesperson can provide - if, and it's a very big if, that spokesperson makes it very clear that he/she IS speaking on behalf of a particular company or group.
http://lbsrambles.typepad.com/lbs_rambles/2007/06/pitching-vs-par.html

[Geoff Livingston]

I think this is Chris Heuer's idea. Participation is marketing has been bantered about by him, Brian Solis, Todd Defren and others for a long time. These folks should get credit for forging the "Participation is Marketing" concept.

[Erik Sebellin-Ross]

Aw c'mon Steve, I love reading the philosophical "let's get off our butts" type of posts as much as the next person -- and heaven knows I've written my fair share -- but it really is time to start acting.

A lot of PR practitioners out there don't have the technical savvy necessary to do what you are describing. Yes, technical savvy -- it's not a matter of time, not a matter of spending a client's dollars wisely, and nor is it a matter of not being willing to evolve to accept a new way of reaching influencers. It's all about the fact that PR pros use their computers as email, Word, Excel and PowerPoint devices and that's all. They fear the unknown because they don't understand it.

On my blog I've made an effort to enlighten the PR community about the technology around it, and how it can actually take advantage of it. Step by step, how they can accomplish things with web-enabled software, for example.

You're widely read Steve. Me -- not so much. If you explain to PR pro's what they have to do step by step -- first from a technology standpoint and then from a "communicate transparently as part of the community" angle -- you'll start to see the kind of change you're talking about.

[Brian Solis]

Steve, you're right. Traditional PR - as in pitching and shotgun blasts - is dying, as it should. The future of PR is a fusion of traditional and new media, and it's all based on listening (first), then participation, honesty, respect, engagement, experience, and value.

I've spent a lot of time with social media experts over the last two years. Folks like Chris Heuer, Stowe Boyd, Greg Narain, Deb Schultz, Giovanni Rodriguez, Robert Scoble, Shel Israel, Shel Holtz, Jeremy Pepper, and Todd Defren.

The change is already well underway and well documented. The challenge however, is to get the majority of PR to participate in this conversation.

I'm of the belief that most PR people will not make the transition successfully, and nor should they. Most don't read the publications or blogs they pitch today, many aren't technically savvy, and hardly any use the products or services they're hired to represent.

However, this new landscape represents an opportunity for passionate and smart PR people to reinvigorate an industry long associated with used car salesman. We can add value back into our profession, all while putting the "public" back in public relations. It's about conversations, knowledge, sharing and relationships.

Listening is marketing.

Participation is marketing.

Media is marketing.

Conversations are marketing.

Comments are marketing.

I recently wrote a post, entitled "The Future of Communications – A Manifesto for Integrating Social Media into Marketing," that highlights these ideas and also goes way beyond social networks to help PR people understand what's going on and to teach those who want to learn how to jump in.

If you or your readers have some free time, I've included the link below:

http://www.briansolis.com/2007/06/future-of-communications-manifesto-for.html

[Jerry Johnson]

Brian,
Thanks for posting your link. I look forward to reading your piece. For the rest of you I am just beginning to pay attention to pr and the effect of technology on it and I thank you for your thoughtful comments.

[Jeremy Pepper]

You talk the talk, you're just not able to walk the walk.

i completely agree

(we hashed this out a good bit a few weeks ago between guy kawasaki's blog, jeremiah owyang, and a few other folks)

- dave mcclure
http://500hats.typepad.com/

[Steve Rubel]

Geoff and Dave, you're right - many deserve credit here.

Erik, I have written many how-to's over the years. I will share more, but I need to save the best stuff for our own folks, of course!

Jeremy, you're right. It's about walking the walk, which you and I have been doing for many years. Now it's time to get our colleagues on board.

BTW, one other key thought. I am really not talking about blogging here. Rather, all online communities. During the WEF event last week I heard a great phrase - community will run through everything. I believe that. Gen Y lives it. Now it's time for the rest of us to do so. Otherwise, we'll be left behind.

[Jeremy Pepper]

No, I walk it - you join communities to use people and use the communities, not out of any sense of community. To quote someone else, you're disingenuous.

But, it's nice to read this - I believe this has been what Phil Gomes has been saying long before you began blogging, and is prolly what he teaches there.

[Ty Graham]

The future is bright and the community model will mature.

We're looking for an exceptional marketing person, because soon, everyone is going to get blipd!

[Jeff Davis]

"They are pumping thousands of email pitches into the community every day. I know because I receive hundreds of these emails every day, as do many other bloggers I have spoken to over the last several weeks. Some are good, most are not."

Enjoyed this post...maybe you have done this in the past, but one way to educate us is by posting some of these misguided pitches - not hundreds a day, but examples of the clueless pitches you and others are receiving. That way we can see what you're talking about, and maybe those sending the pitches can change their ways before things get totally out of control.

[Steve Dragoo]

Steve, it sounds like the majority of us are in "violent agreement" on most of the points you've made. Thanks for the post.

[Chris Heuer]

Thanks for acknowledging the many who have lead the way before you, whose ideas and quotes you are able to use to get attention for yourself without attribution. When I talked to you about "participation is marketing" at Gnomedex last year, you weren't very interested. I don't have a problem with you or with your promotion of this very key idea - in fact, I am very happy for the fact that you have come around.

I am however concerned about a lack of understanding in regards to what genuine participation really means, and whether or not a legion of self interested and self promoting PR professionals are going to participate in communities in the same way they lay down astroturf and pump out flogs. This is ultimately why I launched the club - to help more people understand the very fundamental shift that is happening in the world of communications professionals.

Unlike others who think your predictions of doom and gloom are too far fetched, I clearly see that the PR industry is indeed in crisis, with most professionals blissfully oblivious to the seachange that is in front of them. Will PR continue - of course, just as newspapers have survived the Internet, forever transformed by the Web and the voice it has given to people around the world...

[Steve Rubel]

I see this isn't a new idea. I had missed others' prior posts on this subject. I don't read other PR blogs beyond the ones that my colleagues pen. There's only so much time in the day and had to cut down my feed list. If we're all singing the same tune, that's great news. Glad to hear that we largely agree.

[Jeremy Pepper]

Nice that you're part of the community - oops, wait, you just admitted that you are not.

[Mack Collier]

"Nice that you're part of the community - oops, wait, you just admitted that you are not."

Hilarious. If I had a towel, I'd be throwing it in.

[Eric]

I recently interviewed some serious online community opinion leaders, looking for traits that environmental organizations would seek in a staff person to cultivate to "step out in front of the curtain," as Steve recommends.

What struck me during these conversations is that these community opinion leaders had actually gone to remarkable lengths NOT to be anybody's mouthpiece -- even organizations they admire and support.

I came to understand that becoming a serious online community opinion leader requires intense self-direction and committing more deeply to that effort than to any employer. That means institutions will find it very challenging to develop and retain online influentials on their staff.

It seems that people who have a strong desire for the role of thought-leader in a given community will happily desert their employers for circumstances more favorable to those aspirations... won't they, Steve?

Here are the interviews:
http://waterwordsthatwork.com/2007/06/18/special-series-environmental-opinion-leaders%e2%80%a6-online

Eric

[Whitney Keyes]

Great article. Look at the fascinating conversation you started! I got a joint PR/Journalism degree in school. In my opinion, the two go hand in hand. The process of story telling is similar. It is all about connecting with people, sharing information and making an impact. If you know how to tell a story, you can either do it for a media outlet or for an organization or individual. PR, when done right, can help journalists immensely.

I've been in the PR business - and a freelance journalist on the side - for years. No matter where I’ve worked, I always remained ethical and as objective as possible when storytelling. I’ve worked on worldwide PR strategies for Bill Gates while I was at Microsoft, and I’ve also helped small, struggling businesses get their name in the news locally. I also teach PR classes through the University of Washington and Washington State University. My philosophy has always been about genuinely connecting, not pitching or selling yourself.

Everything about the media, no matter what side of the fence you’re on, is changing and evolving. I’ve just recently switched over to journalism as my main career. I’m now the co-host and producer of a new TV Talk show for women on the web at www.WhitneyandWyatt.com. As a journalist, I’m always looking for stories to share with our viewers in an objective way. And very open to hearing from PR people or individuals who may have a good tip or news idea. As a business owner, I’m also aware of my need to continue to participate in PR activities to help create awareness for the show. And I rely on other journalists to help me do this in an objective way.

Thanks again for an interesting article and fascinating discussion.

[Geoff Livingston]

I'm not sure if this is a great discussion. It seems more like a foreboding sign that PR hasn't learned community behaviors likes transparency, honesty and integrity yet.

[Karlo Mikhail Mongaya]

I am quite new to the blogging community and found the piece and ensuing discussion quite engaging.

Yes I agree that we in the PR community must not just pitch online. We should participate as part of the online community. This is why PRWORKS Inc., a PR company based in Cebu, Philippines, came out with our own blog (prworks.wordpress.com) that features specific experiences and insights in our partnership with companies needing PR help locally.

However, participation should not just be online. We also belong to the rapidly evolving offline community where participation by PR practitioners is crucial.

Here in Cebu, our company had been assisting TEAMASIA of Mike and Monette Hamlin and the local business and government community for years now in organizing international ICT conferences that chart community directions.

We are currently in the midst of the 3-day Cebu ICT 2007, a pioneering landmark ICT collaboration in Asia, at the Cebu International Convention CEnter (CICC) and the Mactan Cebu Shangri-la and Resort.

A few weeks ago, we participated in the Cebu Tourism Summit. Both international conferences are the highlights of the ongoing Cebu Business Month.

[James Clark]

Hi Steve,

Love the subject matter here. As a former PR Agency owner, I saw the writing on the wall and bailed out four years ago to pursue the online conversation. It is about the participation, and yes this is an old topic.

As a matter of fact I sent you an email just about a year ago (July 7, 2006) about our white paper "Fire Your PR Firm?" that discusses the reasons why PR is not fit for the online conversation.

http://www.capturetheconversation.com/fire-your-pr-firm.pdf

As Erik commented on above, the issue is the skill sets in PR agencies don't match the need.

Our company works with many PR agenices providing online communications support and train them on how to incorporate social media into their plans, the fact is, even with all the support and training, it's still an after thought.

Out of our frustration developed online video tutorials to help PR pros learn how to use the tools.

http://www.capturetheconversation.com/categoryctc/Video%20Tutorials/

I'm totally supporting your point here, the canary was found dead in the coal mine quite a long time ago.

[Maria Elena Duron]

Steve,

I agree --traditional PR is evolving and it needs to. How many of us are still spinning vinyl records? The music hasn't stopped yet the venue (or the medium) has. The same with PR. It is not about pitching. To be effective it really never has been about that. It's about conversations. Having conversations with your clients, not about what YOU want to talk about, but what they are ALREADY talking about. In it's true form, public relations is about your relationship with the public (however, you define who that public is). And, how do you have a "relationship" without having conversations? I've never seen that happen person to person (or mouth to mouth as I like to say) nor even company to group.

Social networks and blogging are another form of communication that's utilized in the "here and now". I also agree with your thoughts on being "transparent" and communicating as individuals.

Really, when you're at the grocery store or bank -- are you having a relationship with the big organization or is it the people who you see face to face (or belly to belly) that make up that organization. All business is local-- it's the person (or people) that you're in relationship with there that represent that business.

My 2-cents worth! Thanks, Steve!

[csalomonlee]

I'm joining the conversation a bit late but I've been thinking/struggling about this topic, especially now that I'm in-house. From my perspective, whether it's "old" PR or "New PR," PR, by it’s very nature, is participatory.

You mentioned, “…pitching is on its way to becoming a lost art because the landscape is changing rapidly.” I believe the issue is much more deep rooted than a person’s ability to pitch.

Rather, PR agencies and maybe some practitioners are becoming complacent. The goal is the number of hours can you use to fill the budget with the right amount of results to satisfy your client. This usually means falling back on the traditional programs versus taking a step back to really understand your client’s 1) PR, 2) marketing and 3) sales objectives to truly identify the strategies/tactics that would truly benefit your client.

If you took it from that perspective, then I think agencies will invest in the time to truly train their associates on the new technologies and how they can be incoporated. But, after being in PR for too many years, I think this takes a commitment away from billable hours that some agencies aren’t prepared to give up.

So my question to you, is it "individuals" who have to change, or the very "nature" of our existing PR structure?

[Vicky]

I too, am joining this conversation a bit late but I come with a challenge. I am a final year university student studying Public Relations and although I find online PR and new media most interesting, I do not fully understand the role of PR in an online environment and I am looknig for a gap in current research that I can fill.

With regards to audiences and publics, we are faced with a shift from media consumption to media engagement. No longer do people simply soak up information, but we are given the opportunity to play, create, talk, share and show off. More simply, we live in an age where everyone is a journalist (blogs, social networks), a director (YouTube), even a photographer (on Flickr there are 156,698 photos of kittens.

Can anyone clarify how PR fits in here?

Also, how do websites such as Facebook and YouTube benefit a brand, organisation or service? How can PRs communicate their messages via User Generated websites?

[kix]

There are PR agencies which emphasizes "relations" in public relations. The media landscape has been changing with the changing times. This website of Mind Bullet Inc., based in the Philippines. http://www.mindbullet.org, attempts to analyze issues, even challenge persisting modalities of advertising and communication.

For the question above, social networking sites benefit greatly in these sites. One way is these sites is a "free research zone". Just by visiting these, agencies will have a feel on the present preferences of potential audiences. At the same time, PR agencies can have a more personalized face using these social networking sites.

Communication is a changing field. However, in the present century, technological changes went super fast. There is a gray area though- which dictates which - does technology dictate? Or the audience dictate technology?