I have been railing a bit how the PR profession should not be so enamored of technology that we forget the importance of choosing the right words and telling the right story. Recent posts have referenced the power of sticky ideas, and the importance of not being blinded by PR Science.
I know that many are resistant to change, and that the greater danger is that we do not see that the world is shifting under our feet and do not experiment with new technologies and methods. But there is also the danger of going too far in the other direction; when you have a hammer everything looks like a nail.
So how does one stay ahead of the curve while achieving balance in PR? How do we master the art of basic PR storytelling while opening ourselves to new tactics and technologies?
Much the same as in any rapidly changing field, you need to bet on the right horses if you want to keep pace (i.e. keep your day jobs, remain billable and profitable) while positioning yourself for the future.
There just is not enough time in the day to master every new tech gambit, nor do I think you have to; the various audiences we are seeking to communicate with can only absorb so much tech, and the hot new communications gizmo du jour may well be gone by tomorrow.
So, continuing in the “stickiness” vein – my focus has been on creating ideas that stick – let me suggest that technologies and media worth focusing on – betting your career and agency on and mastering – are the sticky ones – are the media that draw us in, keep our attention and have intrinsic network effect potential.
This is why I am so bullish on blogging (as an activity, as well as reading and targeting blogs) and social networking, both which have grown tremendously in recent years.
Of course, this only matters if the people we are seeking to communicate with adopt these technologies and flock to these types of media – take nothing for granted and test all assumptions for your specific situation.
Clearly, we as communications professionals would be well advised to hone strategies that leverage the sticky media – this is the best way to work with trust networks and communicate with people in the comfortable environs that they are increasingly spending much of their online time in.
I list a couple of these below, and would love to get feedback and suggestions regarding other possible additions.
Social networks
Organic network effort, high cost of switching: once you have assembled a network, are growing it and regularly visiting you get more and more value.
Organic network effort, high cost of switching: once you have assembled a network, are growing it and regularly visiting you get more and more value.
Blogs and Blogging
Blogging becomes a habit that most who commit time to find hard to break; it provides more of a weak force network effect than social networks, however there still is that effect, and most who take up writing blogs also read blogs, further reinforcing the habit.
Blogging becomes a habit that most who commit time to find hard to break; it provides more of a weak force network effect than social networks, however there still is that effect, and most who take up writing blogs also read blogs, further reinforcing the habit.
