So, with all the discussion of bettering the tools, the Social Media News Release and now the Social Media Newsroom, the question still remains, what do journalists want?
Chris Heuer, founder of the Social Media Club; led the discussion with panelists Todd Defren, SHIFT Communications; Tom Formeski, Silicon Valley Watcher; Brian Solis, FutureWorksPRLaura Sturaitis, Business Wire; and George Vasquez, PR tried to answer that question, and why the new format goes far beyond outreach to the traditional media.
It seems to me that we are focusing on the tools at the detraction of the message. We need to understand how we can use this tool to make a better pitch and how journalist will use this to write a better story. It is clear that the SMNR will be a great way to bring your story directly to content generators, like with and in those that participate in collaborative environments.
I think it is time to do some focus groups and provide some journalists with different formats to get some feedback about what they like and dislike about the Social Media News Release format. As was mentioned by a person in the audience, we need to start developing case studies and metrics to show if this format will be of use to the media, or if it is really a device to reach and direct users. This may be a great project for the Society for New Communications Research.
You can read more about the SMNR at the Social Media News Release Web site.
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