College Sports Information Directors of America

Online: Transforming PR in a mobile world, by Wendy Marx, B2B PR and Marketing Specialist, Marx Communications via fastcompany.com

Old paradigms die hard. I was reminded of that recently when talking to PR guru, author, and consultant David Meerman Scott who more than anyone has helped PR evolve in the 21st century.

While everyone’s business has been forced to change in this 24/7 always-on, mobile world, we as PR practioners (and here I am as guilty as anyone) still tend to release news according to our schedule and timing, not that of the media. Like gladhanding politicians, we knock on journalists’ virtual door fronts with our campaign literature (that is news releases) in hand, asking the media to endorse us by writing our story--not their story.

Scott asks a simple but insightful question: What if you reverse the equation, and instead of reaching out to journalists on your schedule, get them to find you? Fortunately, digital devices, including mobile, have made it easy for reporters to find sources. And that source might as well be you. One of the best ways to do that is to mash up mobile with social media to concoct a timely, enticing brew that will be quaffed by journalists. Or as Scott calls it, you can “newsjack," commenting on a breaking story in a way that journalists will find you.

“It’s really a matter of understanding that we live in a 24-hour real-time world,” says Scott. “Reporters can be working at home, on the road, on their iPhone when they are at a baseball game. You can reach them any time. You need to create content optimized for their devices so that reporters will find that when they are writing a story.”

Here are 5 ways Scott recommends doing just that:

1. Optimize for mobile. Index your site for the mobile search engines so people can find your content on their mobile devices. Make your content visible on the small screen.
2. Monitor keywords and phrases on Twitter so you are on top of the news and trends in your industry.
3. Monitor regulatory changes in your industry so you can comment in real time on Twitter about those changes.
4. Create content and comment in real time via a blog, media alert and/or Twitter when news is breaking so media will find you .
5. Create today’s version of that old standby, the press kit--a mobile app with a feed of content optimized in an application for reporters that includes press releases, blog posts, video, and Twitter feeds. Here is a link to David’s app.

Don't use all the new technology as an invitation to spam reporters on their mobile phone or Twitter feed. Don’t send an uninvited text message. That will only backfire.

The bottom line is that PR practitioners need to be as nimble and quick as a reporter or blogger on deadline and be anywhere they are likely to find you--on mobile, on social media, on a blog, on video. All you need to do is seize the opportunity.

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