The Trust Barometer (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Press Release Necessary on the Local Level

Pop! PR Jots

Jeremy Pepper responds to yesterday’s flap over social media press releases by pointing out that the traditional press release is still necessary for most public relations campaigns, as most public relations campaigns are run locally.  Pepper rightly notes that the debate over the importance of social media in PR is largely over the heads of most of PR’s true audience, and that while blogs, RSS, and the SMPR will continue to change the industry, traditional tools cannot be cast aside.  “What people don't get - especially non-PR people - is that, oh, the majority of PR is done at the local level, where people don't care about blogs or RSS. The local level is done with a press release - sometimes sent over the wire, often not sent over the wire - and done with one-on-one contact.”

Bloggers Rate Low on the Edelman Trust Barometer

Simonsays

Simon Collister reports on the launch of the Edelman Trust Barometer, announced with both traditional and social media news releases.  Of those surveyed, only 6 percent of respondents claimed to trust bloggers, while 45 percent claim to trust “someone like me.”  Collister wonders what the difference is; as citizen media is run by “someone like me.” “What the findings reinforce is that we no longer live in an age of deference but one of reference. People want to be talked to, not shouted at. The faster busiensses/NGOs etc recognise that and adapt their worldvew the faster a) they will adopt to social media and b) they will find they're running in step with the vast majority of the public.”

PR Needs to Join the Conversation

/Message

Stowe Boyd reacts to the flurry of posts in response to his recent condemnation of the press release.  He argues that he still believes the traditional press release is on its way out, and claims to be arguing for the increased use of corporate blogs because public relations is meant to be a conversation.  He urges PR practitioners to not only engage in conversation instead of merely pushing messages, but also realize that social media is going to change the industry, and the way public relations currently operates. “I really do believe that they should stop what they are doing and join the open conversation that is going on out here, at the edge. They should stop pushing information that they know to be false, like phoney quotes, overdone product claims, and news flashes of dubious importance. They should stop crafting "messages" to broadcast through various "channels" to their various "audiences".”