Imagine a world in which there was only one publication and one reader.
A frightening thought, isn’t it?
Yet this is exactly where we are headed, and if you work in PR, it is something you should start thinking about.
The scenario may be grossly oversimplifying things, but it is a good way to gain greater perspective and understanding.
Are we as PR professionals up to challenges implied by such a new world?
Consider: We are becoming a nation of searchers. I’ll spare you the numbers that back this up. Suffice it to say, the shortest route to the information we need is increasingly a Google Web search.
Google is great at finding the right results, correct? And Google employs rocket science to make sure the top results are from reliable sources, right? So Google is also becoming an arbiter of credibility and relevance.
What this means is, that to the sum total of our collective efforts (when I say “our” I mean anyone who seeks to communicate with and/or influence online audiences) is, IF WE ARE VERY LUCKY OR VERY SMART, reflected in the SERP, the search engine results page. Page 1, to be precise, most look no further.
The SERP, the grand, filter, equalizer and arbiter. Filter, because it distills, equalizer because there is little to distinguish one listing from another, and arbiter because everyone knows that Google is scary smart and good at this.
Question: In this context, does it really matter where the search results words are from, whether the WSJ, an obscure blog, or some other source?
The SERP makes them all look kinda the same.
Or does the descriptive text that highlights how the returned results relate to your search (and surrounding words) grab the eye and reel the reader in?
Challenge: As a PR pro, you probably have at least some idea about how to get coverage in the WSJ. But do you know how to optimize your content for Google and make sure the right words jump from the SERP? Do you even know what this text is called ("snippets", according to Search Engine Watch)?
Consider: OK, great, get it, Google is for finding things, and we should care about this. But what about DEFINING things? We, as a species, are easily confused. And we, as a species, are increasingly turning to one source, Wikipedia, to clear up the confusion. It is rapidly becoming the de facto fact checker (or is that “de facto checker?”) for the masses.
If you work in technology, or some other information rich and complex area, chances are, that as we speak, your customers and potential customers are turning to Wikipedia to make sense of it all.
Question: What will they find there? Will it help you or hurt you? And what role can you play in making sure that Wikipedia has it right? What are the PR ethics involved with this?
Challenge: Do you know how to create or modify a Wikipedia entry? Do you know how to keep tabs on all entries that relate to your space?
Fact checking the online fact checkers should be a core PR skill.
Consider: Another variant of the publication of one is the social news site (some call them meme trackers).
These sites let users track the hot stories, submit news and rate stories.
They include Digg, Reddit, etc. (see the WSJ article “The Wizards of Buzz.”)
Question: What are the PR ethics involved when people can submit and vote on stories?
Challenge: Have you ever “Dugg” a story for your client or employer? Do you know how to submit a story to one or more of these sites? Do you have a Digg or Delicious button on your blog, to give visitors an easy way to nominate your stories?
Consider: Links in. Links out. Tags. Web pages. Metadata. Web site traffic. Keywords. Web site copy. These are the nails. The glue. The drywall. The foundation of the Publication of One. All these elements are constantly in flux. They make up the great Petri dish called the Web.
And how these elements are organized influence the discoverability, ranking and relevance of your content on the Web. Your place in the index and the SERP.
Question and challenge: Are you driving your fair share of “nails?” Are you orchestrating these elements so that the lone searcher consulting the solitary index of the Publication of One finds your information?
What will be the most valued PR skills in the coming years? Media relations? Writing? Events management? Try New Media PR, and everything that this involves.
