Last week, I extolled the virtues of blended communication. Today, I want to show how new and traditional media can complement each other to deliver more effective communication with a wider reach.
Press Releases and Corporate Blogs - Blended communication leverages both. Press releases should be used to announce major (material) news. They represent a point in time when a deal is reached, a product is launched or an appointment is made. Unfortunately companies can abuse them to disclose information with little or no news value beyond the companies involved. Corporate blogs function differently. Used correctly, blogs are not repackaged press releases, but a platform to discuss ongoing developments in a way that invites comment and feedback. For major announcements, blogs can put a human face on company efforts, while press releases can deliver a more formal voice.
Placement and Search - While gaining importance, search results lag behind placement as a key PR success metric. Blended communication combines story placement and SEO. Beyond awareness, placement in key publications generates legitimacy and validation for a company position. It also serves to enhance search results. But search merits equal importance. A concerted SEO strategy helps users find company information who don't care about particular publications or reporters. It includes optimizing press releases and other "content" including podcasts, pictures, videos, graphics and pictures that are often found in a newsroom on a corporate website. It takes into account how more and more people process information - on their own terms (search or otherwise) - pun intended.
Context - Blended communication strives to create content that reflects the dynamics of the medium. For example, I did a posting last year about CBS' online strategy for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Their traditional website CBSsports.com led with content for their 18-49 year old male demographic while their Facebook led with community targeting a teenage to 34 year old demographic. One led with news and scores and the other on team pages, smack talk and tournament pokes. It's related information processed differently for different audiences. (Below, the first is the Facebook page and the second is the website page from the to other day.)
Swarming - Blended communication anticipates a negative or positive review in an influential publication and enables PR to respond in real time. Used to be you had to wait for the story to appear. You would send a letter to the editor if you disagreed or took out a page to advertise your position. That's impractical in the hyperspeed of the Internet. Instead you can now use the power of the web to your advantage. You can create blog postings, build microsites and use SEM to support or rebut the story when users search for the article. In some respects, it is swarming or engulfng a news item with related and relevant content. It helps to create balance when the news is negative and amplification when the news is good.
Personalization - Blended communication uses new media to humanize traditional coverage. Imagine last fall if the CEOs of the Big Three automakers had used new media to supplement traditional channels in making their case for a government bailout. Going before Congress was national news covered by all the major news organizations. It merited press releases, the distribution of testimony and media interviews. But also imagine if the CEOs had traveled in hybrid cars, met with dealers and customers along the way and used Twitter and YouTube to personalize their stories. It would have changed the entire dynamic and demonstrated a mastery of multiple forms of media.
In short, blended communication is strategic communications. It looks beyond tools and technologies and integrates different ways of delivering information. It reflects the way we process news, and the way corporate executives measure it.
Let me get back to you.
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