The new PR practitioner

As I've written and said too many times, I am a recovering publicist. One day, I scrawled on a restroom mirror, "stop me before I pitch again." I've joined Hypers Anonymous, and attend meetings once weekly.  I have not pitched in over five years.

Well none of that is not exactly true.  In 2001, I sold SIPR, my PR agency to employees and went home.  The main reason was not a disaffection with the profession but that a bubble popped in my face.  My choices were to lay everyone off and start all over again, or to turn the keys over to everyone else and go home.

I opted for the latter.

What is true however, is that PR as I had learned it Regis McKenna, Inc. the legendary tech PR agency had changed significantly during my tenure and I did not think it was for the better. At Regis we were taught to be trusted sources of information for the press and analysts who could most influence our clients relationships with customers and prospects. The press loved speaking to us, because were industry insiders.  We knew what was going on in this new place called Silicon Valley.  We were active particpants in conversations.  We were facilitators for our clients. We knew which editor wanted what story and we helped them get it, sometimes pointing them to companies that were not agency clients.

As an aside, the press release was considered an almost superflous document in the Regis process.  He used to say that he didn't care if it was just a series of bullet points. After all, we were not in the news writing business.  We were more relationship facilitators than anything else. While many were cute, Regis hired people because they were smart. many of us were aggressive, perhaps overly so, but some of us did quitre well by being slow, methodical and thoughtful.

Much has passed from then to now, but I am not the only observer who believes the early 80s were a Golden Age in tech PR.  It was a respected profession then.  Editors, for th most part, valued us.  We were translators of the complex into terms that people could understand.  We had special knowledge worth sharing.  Our clients were often engineers who wanted to tell you how hard it was to accomplish  something.  We simplified the story.  Simplified it and facilitated its distribtution to people who made a difference.

It seems to me we have come full circle because of several factors, particularly the rise of the internet and the reduced relevance of traditional media. Back in the Regis days, we played active roles in the conversation--not as client boosting hypesters, but as knowledgeable resources. We eroded into roles as smilers and dialers.  Now because all that smiling and dialing has become increasingly ineffectual, there is a  great opportunity for the PR professional to once again join the conversation.

PR people have a future  as the same kind of trusted resources we were back in the days of Regis McKenna. except now we can use blogging and social media.  We get to establish our own credibility over time and when we discuss our own clients on our blogs, we are trusted sources of information relevant to our audiences.

There are all sorts of people doing this today. They may get hung up n small matters such as the social media press release, but that is not relevant.  What's relevant is that we know them  from an ongoing series of conversations  held on the Internet. I may disagree with Shel Holtz about  the social media release and whether we are in a new phase of a PR continuum as he believes or at the beginning of a social revolution as I believe. In the large sense such issues are no great matter.

What is a great matter, if you are in the PR proffesion is that you will not succeed if you focus on smiling and dialing a media list of strangers, if you are intent in inject hubris into what you have to say or write.  If you think you can succeed by being just cute or clever, you are living in the wrong Era.

Today, you need to join the conversation. You are part of the news distribution system, not just for your clients, but for the community where your clients would like to flourish.

This to me is very liberating.  The PR people I know and respect are all interesting people and great story teller.  They often know so much more than their clients allow them to express.  We are now in a Conversational Era.  It looks like we will be in this Era for some time to come, and the best and brightest of the PR professionals will join in that conversation, while others will just be left behind.

Comments

[jim Forbes]

Eggsaladent post Shel. just outstanding and good advice. I'd add one caveat to the social media release--full disclosure about who's a client and what clients may be in a given industry segment people are writing about.
Hope you're well. the squid are jumpin' and the avocados are dropping.

Be well
JimF

[Kami Huyse]

Yes, yes and yes. It is the reason I despise the term PR 2.0. We are finally at a stage when we can live into what we say we are. I agree with you on this one Shel, thanks for saying exactly what is in my mind about my profession and how it should be practiced.

[Shoshanna]

Good PR people are good writers too. Please take the time to proof your postings. Frequent typos are annoying and may cost you your credibility.

[shel israel]

Thanks for the tip Shoshanna. I'll take my risks.

[James Cherkoff]

Bravo!

[David Parmet]

Amen to all that...

[Paloma Cruz]

Thank you, Shel, for this insightful post. "Today, you need to join the conversation." Too true. It's also the thing that is the most difficult. Trying to control the flow of information is no longer a viable possibility. Contributing to the information, being part of the community, that's what we need to strive for.

[Andrew]

Shel - This post truly resonates with me as a PR practitioner from the higher education sector. The very nature of our work -- at institutions of higher learning, where online access is ubiquitous -- ought to prompt a greater sense of urgency among us even than our agency and corporate brethren

(Sorry to be late to the discussion. It's a good one. And I agree with Shoshanna.)

[Tedel]

Shel, if what you are posting here is right, then let me ask you a question... If I spend a number of hours a week taking part in Internet conversations or commenting blogs, how will this lead into profits for me?