“PR should reinvent itself; we are still rooted in conventional ways of thinking. If we don’t do it, we will die out like dinosaurs.”

This is one of the quotes that come to my mind when I think about the PR industry. The quote was by Iwona Sarachman, PR director at AmRest sp. z o.o., and was noted during an executive debate hosted by PRWeek last year which discussed the evolving relationship between marketing and PR.

Traditionally, PR has always been associated with media relations or publicity—writing press releases and pitching them to journalists to get coverage in newspapers, magazines, TV, or radio programs.

The more modern version of this in the digital world is influencer relations or simply pitching bloggers, YouTubers, Instagrammers, or anyone who’s influential online.

However, PR is so much more than just media or influencer relations. If done right, PR can encompass all media types within the PESO model—Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned.

But the PR industry is not fully there yet. We are still rooted in conventional ways of thinking and doing; still stuck with old habits; still using phone and email and avoiding technology.

We know that PR is so much more than just media relations. 

But the media hasn't gone away and remains a valuable source to spread the word about our business, especially in B2B or more complicated industries. 

Media relations, though, is done pretty badly. Journalists don't really like PR professionals because they spam them with non-stop emails and phone calls. The worst part is that the content of those pitches is irrelevant or not of interest for the journalist. 

So how do you do it right? I've written a whole blog post on doing media relations the inbound way, however, what I want to show you today are some stats from Muck Rack's latest research on how journalists use social media that support the points I make in the mentioned blog post.

5 Tips on How to Pitch the Media

This is a guest post by Georgi Todorov. 

Marketers are already well-versed when it comes to working with celebrity influencers. After all, who wouldn’t want Kim Kardashian to show their product in one of her photos?

But the truth is, working with traditional influencers is often cost-prohibitive and inefficient, and it’s simply out of reach for many smaller businesses. That’s where micro-influencers come in – those slightly less famous people who still have a huge amount of influence (and followers) in their niche.

Defining micro-influencers as those with under 30,000 followers, Adweek explains that they deliver a 60% higher engagement rate and are 6.7x more cost effective. Convince & Convert, meanwhile, reminds us that micro-influencers also have more targeted audiences, which allows them to aim for relevance when it comes to the brands that they work with. In addition, influencer marketing is the fastest growing channel for customer acquisition.

And it really works. Let me show you one example:

Did you know that 53.3% of communication professionals have low visual communication skills? 

I learned this from the latest European Communication Monitor 2017 which is a yearly survey that looks at trends and challenges in the communication industry. This year, over 3,300 professionals from 50 European countries took part in the research. 

Here's a quick video of some of the key findings: 

 I went through the research slides and this fantastic summary to put together my six key themes: 

Six Key Themes in Communication for 2017 and Beyond

Did you know that China and Vietnam hold the world's largest prisons for journalists and bloggers?

I came across The 2017 World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders and found the study fascinating. It shows you how different countries and regions are in terms of how the media functions by measuring the level of pluralism, media independence, and respect for the safety and freedom of journalists. I think when you live somewhere you just assume that things are the same in every other country which is clearly not the case. 

If you work in a global organisation, you need to be aware of cultural differences because they determine how to communicate and make decisions. And when you work in PR or communications for global clients and run global campaigns, then understanding how the media works in the countries around the world is crucial. 

The study doesn't have a particularly positive view of the world, explaining how attacks on the media have become commonplace and strongmen are on the rise where we have reached the age of post-truth, propaganda, and suppression of freedoms – especially in democracies. Some facts are frankly shocking.

Let's take a look.