The media landscape has gotten a lot more complicated in recent years.
When I became a journalist in the late 1980s, there were three main forms of news media – print (newspapers, magazines), radio and television (both regular and that newfangled cable TV sweeping the country).
Today, all three of the above still exist, although print’s deathbed is approaching ever so quickly. Add in social media, newsletters, podcasts and the king – a/k/a the Internet – and there are options galore. That doesn ’t even count things like influencers, advertorials and so on. And don’t even get me started on the major news organizations today that are little more than shills for the political right or left.
In the olden days, when Ronald Reagan was still president, there were fairly clear divisions separating news and advertising. Media organizations had “Chinese walls” that separated news from advertising. Ad reps weren’t supposed to talk to reporters about writing stories about their clients. That’s gone by the wayside, and I regularly fend off ad reps making lousy, boring pitches.
That Chinese wall helped make it easy to tell what was considered legitimate news and what wasn’t. If you wanted coverage, your utility needed to go through the local newspapers, TV stations and radio outlets.
Because nothing today is that obvious – and because there are so many available choices – you have to consider all possibilities when crafting a media plan and looking to regularly secure coverage.
As with anything, there are plusses and minuses associated with today’s media landscape.
Having many more options is the main positive factor, as is the ability to create your own news via social media and your website.
The drawback is that there are now perhaps too many options, which has led to market fragmentation – can you ever be sure anyone is paying attention to your message? Think about it like this: Have you ever started scrolling through Netflix and found yourself giving up because there were too many options? That’s where the media is today.
So, what can your utility do to combat that fragmentation?
Develop a multi-faceted plan that enables you to land coverage in any way you can.
Start with your website. It’s entirely under your control, so you should promote whatever messages you wish, keeping in mind that your customers will want useful information. Your web pages should be active and informational places. Don’t forget to use it as a place to promote your other media hits, creating a multiplier effect.
The same is true with social media, where you also control the message. Avoid the flaw many businesses make where they basically push the same message on every social media channel.
Different channels can have different purposes. Facebook can be a general repository of all information. Twitter might be best for breaking news, such as outages. YouTube can be more explanatory – such as a primer on ways to save on energy bills. Instagram can be used for, among other things, showing your team at work.
Then there are the “traditional media” outlets. Keep up your usual relations with your local outlets; although many may be diminished in stature, they still carry a lot of weight. Continue the traditional pitching that’s been a cornerstone of what your public relations department does. That includes pitching ideas for stories, making your company a regular resource for the press and promoting op-eds written by company executives.
Don’t forget about the “sponsored content” or “advertorials” that many of these outlets now offer. While you have to pay for these, they’re designed to resemble regular news content and many readers aren’t savvy enough to know the difference. Since you control the content, your message comes across unfiltered.
Along with choosing reasonably priced outlets, be certain that they are reputable. And, most importantly, pick outlets that are reaching your customers or whoever you’re hoping to influence/ inform.
As for the content used in advertorials, select topics that are most important to your customer base and make your points in a jargon-free and readable format. Keep your materials to about 800 words. Anything more and you’re going to risk losing readers
Planning a media campaign in 2023 may sound like a difficult proposition – and it is. But you have little choice but to navigate those waters because 1988 isn’t coming back (and neither is Ronald Reagan). Remember that everything is an opportunity if played correctly.