• Time Inc. will cut 600 jobs
• Christian Science Monitor quit publishing a weekday paper
• Gannett will cut up to 3,000 people, or 10 percent of its workforce 
• The Tribune Co. will cut the Los Angeles Times newsroom by 75 people
• The Star-Ledger of Newark will cut its editorial staff by 40 percent
  

As The New York Times points out: It’s not an audience problem, but a consumer problem.

It’s not that people have simply stopped reading the news; most have just stopped reading the newspaper.

With the advent of handheld devices, RSS feeds and news alerts, these conveniences have eliminated the need to sit and read the newspaper cover to cover. People can now get news at just about any location and not just from front stoops.

But as more readers find less use for the printed newspaper, publishers have more trouble attracting advertisers — hence job cuts, slimmer papers and even newspaper deaths. And it is going to get tougher.

As emerging technologies become part of everyday life (if they’re not already), newspapers must find a way to create advertising opportunities for each one of these avenues, such as pay-per-click, mobile ads, day-parting, ads targeted at specific user profiles, and more. They must get creative on how they sell ads: Bundle packages that include print, but attract advertisers with technologically advanced advertising streams.

The audience is still there, and advertisers still need to reach it. Newspapers just need to find a way to connect the two.

Related Posts:

Blog Series — The Battle for Influence: Print vs. Online Media

Part 1 — Newspapers without the Paper?

Part 2 — Views from the Mainstream

Part 3 — Print Media Is Losing

Part 4 — Public Relations: The New Fundamentals

Lyndsey Walker is a Consultant for PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. After five years in the journalism field, she is happy to have made the switch to public relations. 

1) Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing refers to permission-based marketing strategies in which consumers choose to learn more about you by conducting a keyword search online, subscribing to your RSS feed, downloading your white paper, opting into your email newsletter, watching your videos, listening to your podcasts, visiting your social network or commenting on your blog.

Check out our guest post on the Hubspot blog to learn about the 4 Ps of Inbound Marketing.

2) Content Marketing

Inbound marketing is powered by content. In order to grow smarter and faster than the competition, organizations must continually publish multi-media content online through blogs, podcasts, videos, optimized press releases, case studies, white papers, eBooks and by-lined articles.

3) Social Web (aka Web 2.0) & The Decline of Mainstream Media

The social Web of consumer-generated content and mass collaboration (i.e. blogging, micro-blogging, forums, social networks, photo and video sharing, social bookmarking) is no longer a trend. Rather, it is an integral and powerful part of our lives.

However, as mainstream media’s (MSM) ability to reach and influence publics declines, demand for social Web strategy, consultation and services will explode.

4) Search

Through content marketing and the social Web, organizations have the ability to reach and influence consumers directly at the exact moment they are searching for products, services and knowledge.

In essence, they are granting you permission to market to them, but you have to be there. This is accomplished through content marketing and search engine optimization (SEO), which will become a core competency of inbound marketing agencies.

5) Measurement

Advertising equivalency and media impressions have long been the PR industry’s means of measuring success. And while these numbers tend to satisfy the C-Suite, what really matters are search engine rankings, inbound links, Website traffic, leads and sales. These highly trackable metrics are how firms should, and will, be judged.

6) Web Software Solutions 

New online software (mostly developed by companies outside the PR industry) has made it possible for firms to dramatically expand their services (e.g. monitoring, measurement, SEO, content distribution, Website development, pay-per-click advertising), and in turn provide more measurable value to clients.

7) Next Generation Leaders

The next generation of PR industry leaders and influencers, who are already emerging, will come from Generation X (ages 28-43) and Generation Y (ages 18-27). They will be extremely tech-savvy, fully immersed in the social Web, highly tolerant to risk and motivated to separate themselves from traditional wisdom and conventional solutions.
 

8) Value-Based Pricing

Traditional retainers and high hourly rates are too restrictive for the mass market, and once organizations (small and large) realize there is an alternative, demand will skyrocket for firms that deliver value-based pricing.

9) Mobile

I don’t pretend to comprehend the full impact of mobile marketing on our industry and business at large, but the geniuses at Google do, and they recently wrote about it on their blog post: The future of mobile 

And, just as I'm getting ready to publish this post, I see this article from PRWeek: Omnicom opens mobile-focused firm in New York.

10) Website Development

Website development must be driven by buyer personas, visitor behavior, content marketing strategies and SEO.

Inbound marketing agencies will become the preferred providers for Web development services, with the technical design and programming still delivered by the experts (possibly outsourced, or brought in-house).

So what do you think is next?

Agree? Disagree? What do you think will change the PR industry, and how will agencies adapt? Share your thoughts and ideas here, or publish your own posts on the topic and drop us a link.

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Traditionally, press releases have been used to reach media contacts in hopes of getting your news published.  Optimized press releases are the new guys in town.  They are keyword-rich marketing tools, distributed online and designed to simultaneously reach traditional media, social media and consumers directly, as well as generate inbound links to your Website. 

As the industry shifts toward inbound marketing, optimized press releases are becoming more common. However, as the concept is still fairly new, there will inevitably be some companies that offer optimized release distribution, but may not generate the results you're hoping for.  Here are some questions to keep in mind when evaluating optimized press release distribution services:

1.  How does the system recognize keywords?

Including keywords in your release is the cornerstone of an effective optimized press release.  Make sure that you choose the keywords your release is tagged with, and that the system doesn’t just pull out the most frequently used words in the release for you.

2.  How does it handle anchor text?

Those keywords mentioned above should appear several times in the release, and at least one time, each keyword should be hyperlinked to an applicable page on your Website, creating an anchor-texted link that will give your site credibility for this keyword, and also generate qualified site traffic.  These are essential to an optimized press release (that's an anchor-texted link) — so make sure that the system is capable of including them. 

3.  How many Websites will my release go out to?

Clearly, the more, the better.  The more sites it goes out to, the more people will see it.

     3a.  How many of those Websites render the anchor-texted links?   
     Not all sites will recognize hyperlinks.  Make sure that a good number will, or else your
     efforts will not be rewarded.

4.  What are the reporting capabilities for results?

A good release distribution service will provide you with reports that show all of the sites that picked up your release, how many people accessed it (and preferably weed out the real people from the search engine spiders, or else this number will be skewed), what kind of media it was sent to (if you sent it over a wire also) and how people found your release online.

Outside of talking to the release distribution itself, it’s worth a bit of extra research on your part to see what people are saying about the company in forums and social networks, to make sure that the company is reputable and handles its customers well.

Internally, it’s a good idea to keep track of a few things to see how your site is performing, both before and after the release is sent.  For example:

•   How did your site rank in search results for the keywords used in the release before you sent the release?  After?
•   How many inbound links did your site have before the release was sent?  How many new inbound links did the release generate?

Laurel Miltner is a Consultant at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. Her favorite color is green. She tweets as @laurelmackenzie.

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• The brand name is difficult to pronounce.
• The brand name has limited awareness outside of geographic markets.
• The brand name appeals to a limited market.
• The brand identity is tired and obsolete.
•  The organization needs a more contemporary, Internet-focused brand.
• The brand does not resonate with younger generations.

• Has your brand changed?
• Has your competition changed?
• What is your competitive advantage? (e.g. why do customers buy from your organization instead of your competitors).  Does your brand align with your competitive advantage?
• How do people perceive your current brand?  How do you want your brand to be perceived?
• What would a new brand name deliver to customers?
• Who are the audiences that would be affected by a brand name change?
• Which objectives do you believe that your organization must accomplish in order to build your business and reach desired growth goals?
• What are the evident strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of a brand name change?
• What are the time, financial and human resources available to take on a project of this magnitude?
• What are the time, financial and human resources available to roll out and maintain a brand name change marketing campaign?

When companies are looking at a name change, they not only must conduct comprehensive research and analysis in making the decision, but also need to consider the potential impact on all of its constituents: customers, employees, partners, board members and the industry overall. It’s these audiences that will be responsible for telling the new story.  

Food for thought: KFC

One prominent brand currently in a unique rebranding process is KFC.  In March 2008, KFC released news that it would be testing Kentucky Grilled Chicken as a co-brand of Kentucky Fried Chicken.  The news garnered attention from online and mainstream media including USA Today and Reuters. 

The release stated that at the time, it was “Currently being tested in Indianapolis, Colorado Springs, San Diego, Oklahoma City, Jacksonville, Fla., and Austin, Texas, KFC’s Kentucky Grilled Chicken is expected to be unveiled nationwide in early 2009.”

NameWire: The Name Development Blog posted its take on the news in a March 24, 2008 post:

“In the coming weeks you can expect to see "Now Grilling" signs at select KFC stores. And storefront signs will be changed to feature "Kentucky Grilled Chicken." The London Free Press says that "Even the brand's ubiquitous chicken buckets will get a makeover..."

“…First of all, customers have to accept that KFC can grill chicken and that the product is indeed healthier than its fried alternative. Will they really believe that a piece of grilled chicken from KFC is better for them than a piece of extra crispy chicken?"  Click here for the full post.  

According to the Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM) Q3 2008 earnings call transcripts from Oct. 8, 2008, Yum! chairman, president and chief executive officer David C. Novak stated, “We expect to turn around KFC performance in 2009 with the introduction of our successfully tested Kentucky Grilled Chicken.”

1. Align the Keywords

2. Searchers Don’t Like to Search

3. Clearly TELL Them What to Do

4. Above the Fold (Unlike this)

PRWeek magazine has revealed its PR Power List, which is stacked with 25 industry influentials.  So, for a young entrepreneur like myself pushing for innovation within the public relations industry, it seemed like a natural group of leaders to connect with and follow on Twitter.

Only one problem . . . not a single Power 25 member appears to be on Twitter*! I did, however, find one “Supporting Power Player,” Katie Paine (@kdpaine), CEO of KD Paine and Partners.

Now I don’t have much room to talk, as I just became active on Twitter last week, but for a recognition that takes into account criteria such as “thought leadership,” “external visibility,” “innovation” and “media influence,” how is that possible?

Consider the influence and reach of some of the industry’s top Tweeters:

• David Meerman Scott (1,958 followers): @dmscott is the best selling author of The New Rules of Marketing & PR, which should be required reading for every PR student in the country, and the first book handed out by agencies to interns and entry-level professionals.
• Todd Defren (3,183 followers): @TDefren is principal at SHIFT Communications and creator of the social media release.
• Brian Solis (6,867 followers): @briansolis is principal of FutureWorks, an award-winning PR and New Media agency in Silicon Valley.

Not sure why PR pros should be using Twitter, check out two recent posts from @laurelmackenzie (aka Laurel Miltner of PR 20/20):

Five Reasons I Use Twitter

Six Steps for Getting Started on Twitter

*Conducted name search of all winners on Twitter (10/20/08), so if I missed you, sorry. Please let me know in the Comments section, or @paulroetzer on Twitter. Also, I'd love to hear from and follow other PR pros on Twitter, so find me @paulroetzer.

This is a guest post by Terry Taylor, a communications professional with more than 30 years of experience in financial services. Terry holds a master's degree in economics from Case Western Reserve University, and his expertise includes investment management marketing, investor relations and financial communications.

One of the most important things a publicly traded company has to address is how it communicates with the investment community. And it doesn’t matter whether you’re a small, growing firm or an established industry leader – you have the same needs to access capital markets, maximize shareholder value and keep your owners happy.

The challenge is putting structure around what you’re doing to get the most for your efforts. Every investor relations program should address four questions:

1. Where is my company now?
2. Where do I want my company to be?
3. What do I do to get it there?
4. Once launched, then what?
   

1) Where is my company now?

Most of us want to start with the second question and speak to the grand strategy. But a successful investor relations framework demands that you think through the environment in which your company is operating and how it’s perceived today, asking yourself:

• Where is my company now and what is its outlook?
• How is my industry doing within the context of the economy?
• How do I stack up versus my peers?
• Which analysts cover my stock? Which ones cover my peers?
• How much of my stock is owned by institutions?
• Which companies are the best regarded in the investment community and why?
  

2) Where do I want my company to be?

How do you define success? Just like any other business initiative, your investor relations program has to have clearly defined targets. For example:

• Targeted total return versus a market benchmark and a peer universe.
• Increased liquidity of company securities.
• Levels of institutional ownership.
• Expand investment analyst coverage.
  

Make sure your objectives are reasonable and attainable.

3) What do I do to get there?

Next comes the creation of a communications program.

For each objective you set, there should be a defined approach and set of deliverables. If your objective is to increase institutional share ownership, your approach could involve increasing security analyst coverage and portfolio manager interest. Deliverables would include presenting at institutional investor conferences, calling on analysts and portfolio managers with your management team, creating and distributing a quarterly company fact sheet and strengthening your web site to make investor material available.

Be clear on accountability for each deliverable. It’s true that many tasks are shared, but someone has to be on the hook.

4) Once launched, now what?

Now that the investor relations program is under way, what do you do?

• Track your results but be patient. Some of your actions will take time to see outcomes.
• Listen to the market’s feedback and decide if your program needs to adapting.
• Remember: The ability to achieve some of your objectives can’t be divorced from the real world. If the company isn’t doing well or doesn’t inspire confidence, no investor relations program in the world is going to fix that.
  

Other questions, including how to integrate investor relations with public affairs, have to be answered too. But you’ll be well on your way to establishing an effective program if you build using a thoughtful step-by-step process.
 

I did a guest post today on the HubSpot Internet marketing blog that asks the question, "Are the Four Ps of Marketing Dead?"

Here's the intro:

"In Marketing 101, we are taught the four Ps of traditional marketing - Product, Price, Place and Promotion. While these fundamental elements are still relevant, they may not be as important in business today as the four Ps of inbound marketing - Personas, Participation, Publishing and PageRank. . . ."

Read the full post on the four Ps of inbound marketing and let me know what you think.

I just posted about the five reasons I use Twitter.  In hopes that I may have persuaded a few people to give Twitter a shot for themselves, here are a few tips for getting started.

1.  First of all, even if you’re still not sold, you should still protect your brand by securing your name, and your company name on Twitter, before someone decides to get on there as you.  For example, Paul doesn't actively use Twitter (yet), but he has set up two profiles — one for himself and one for PR 20/20.  (Another brand management tip — go to Twitter search, pick a keyword, like maybe your company or brand name, and see what people are already saying about you.)

Ok.  Chances are you’ve at least heard of Twitter, the micro-blogging tool that asks the question “what are you doing?”  You may have even read some of the dozens (hundreds?) of articles touting its usefulness and business applications.  

I can’t pretend to be an expert on Twitter.  I’m sure that there are tons of aspects of Twitter I haven’t even begun to explore.  However, I’ve been on Twitter for a few months now, (after reading a few articles like this) and have been converted from a major skeptic (who thought that it was a waste of time and that people who really liked Twitter were either: a) really nosey, b) really egotistical or c) a combination of both) to a huge fan (I’m getting a smart phone, mostly so I can be on Twitter more often).  Here’s why:

1. Twitter makes networking easy, painless and powerful.
For a PR professional, I am an awful networker.  I find it awkward and uncomfortable and generally I try to avoid it at all costs without an accomplice.  But on Twitter (and really any social networking platform) you can network with ease.  Online profiles allow you to avoid the canned elevator speeches and awkward silences.  The immediacy of Twitter and relatively constant interaction helps you avoid having to leave a message for someone and wait for a response, like with other social networking applications.

There are two major groups of people I interact with on Twitter: people from Cleveland (like me) and people into social media/inbound marketing/new PR (also like me).  Basically, Twitter allows you to connect with people who have similar interests to your own.

2. Twitter keeps you informed.
By following people with similar interests, you get their updates about blog articles they’ve written, interesting things they are reading, etc.  I barely pay attention to my RSS feeds anymore because I just find things through my network on Twitter.  The only thing to remember on this end is that you need to contribute also.  Read something interesting?  Post a link for your Twitter friends.  It’s a very give-and-take social medium once you get comfortable with it.

Additionally, lots of news organizations post breaking news alerts on Twitter, so you can see important headlines as they happen, without having to turn on the television or go to news Websites.

3. Twitter keeps you connected, online and off.
I’ve connected with people in my industry that I greatly admire.   For example, just the other day, I got a direct message from David Meerman Scott, author of The New Rules of Marketing and PR.  Call me a geek (you’re probably right), but that made me kind of excited.

You can use your network, too, to ask for advice, tips and opinions.  Want a review of the cell phone you’re thinking of buying?  Need a good Facebook-for-business case study?  Make the right friends on Twitter and I bet they can help you out.  

Not to mention, posting blog updates and whatnot on Twitter can boost your site traffic, and get your content in front of people who care about it — and are connected enough to want to communicate with you and share interesting information with others.

I’m also getting more involved locally, thanks to Twitter.  I’ve joined the Cleveland Social Media Club and I have started going to lunch once a month with other people from the area, to catch up and chat about cool things going around us.  I find that there is this kind of strange thing that happens with Twitter, where getting connected online helps you foster better relationships offline.  It seems quite backward at first, but it’s really kind of fun.

4. Twitter is a time-SAVER, not a time-WASTER.
Remember how I said I initially thought Twitter was a waste of time?  I absolutely think the opposite.  By downloading a desktop application like Twhirl, you can have updates pop up on your screen (much like emails do if you use Entourage). This way, you can screen updates from friends and news sources without stopping what you’re doing on your computer.  Again, this filters news and blogs even further than RSS in my case.  And if you don’t have time, you’re generally so in the zone that you don’t even notice them.

5. If you’re not on Twitter, you’re missing some really cool things.  
I’m sure this list can go on and on, but here are a few cool things I’ve seen on Twitter so far:

Twebinars: Radian6 put together a series of Twebinars — Webinars that included a live stream on Twitter.  Basically, instead of the comment/question screen most Webinars allow, people watching the Twebinar also logged onto Twitter and made comments through Twitter and tagged them #twebinar.  There are Websites, including hashtags.org and Twitter search (formerly summize) that allow you to search Twitter updates (aka tweets).