The popularity of Old Media – cable television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and books – is declining, while that of New Media – mobile phones, tablets, and PCs – is on the rise. As a result, Old Media readership has begun shifting to New Media in droves and with it, the focus of public relations (PR).
Traditionally, the ROI of PR that focused on Old Media was measured by a simple comparison of the size and number of mentions in a publication to the cost of advertising for that placement. What’s more, retaining an Old Media PR firm tended to cost upwards of $5,000 per month on a 6-month agreement with no guarantees. In short, calculating ROI for Old Media PR was crude and relied on a lot of ifs.
Enter New Media PR. With the ever-growing fragmentation in how we consume media, it only makes since for PR firms to focus on serving content in real-time via the litany of technologies that allow for media consumption. What’s more, ROI is much more easily calculable. Where Old Media PR left a lot of ifs, New Media PR offers more substance. Need to know how many people read your press release online? Wondering how many Twitter followers you gained after an Internet-based publicity stunt? Done and done, all at the drop of a hat.
Old Media PR isn’t dead, but it’s on the way out. New Media PR is the future. Adapt or die.
