In a report (PDF) published last month, Morgan Stanley analysts Mary Meeker and Brian Pitz discussed the impact of the long tail of content on the news cycle. They compared this to a similar phenomenon that occurs on eBay.
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Typically, eBay users have the greatest opportunity to capitalize when selling products that are at either new/scarce or near the end of their lifecycle and hard to find. Much the same, bloggers are having the greatest impact at either the beginning or end of a news curve, the analysts wrote
We believe that one could view Web content in a similar way. For news content, typically a few well-placed sources are privy to an event first, with the news then rushing into the mainstream. Traditionally, beat reporters disseminate the news to others; with online publishing, any individual with a keyboard (or a digital camera or other recording devices) can disseminate information quickly. At the end of the tail-as time goes on-the news becomes the subject of more nuanced discussion. While many blogs deal with mainstream content, their very nature makes them ideal for dealing with the tails at the beginning and the end.
Last week I wrote about the long tail of content for iMedia Connection and urged marketers to get on board. This week, as a follow up, I thought I would explain one way PR people can immediately convert this theory into an executable media outreach strategy by pitching into the evolving news curve. Feel free to print this out and plug it right into your PR playbook.
Over the past couple of years a number of factors have made it more challenging to convert press releases into press. For one, the media has been decimated by layoffs and closures. This has left many reporters shouldering triple the workload they handled before. They now must focus on the stories that truly have the highest relevance for their readers/viewers. In addition, now that the economy appears to be coming back to life, many more PR professionals are hitting streets, creating even more noise for journalists to contend with. This has lead to even greater increased competition for editorial space. As hungry bloggers break news stories, this only exacerbates the increased pressure many journalists now face.
On the flip side, however, bloggers have opened up hundreds if not thousands of new opportunities for you to get your message across, especially as the ever competitive press closely monitor weblogs for the early rumblings of news. This is where you can use a Long Tail Strategy to succeed. The basic approach is simple – just follow the curve. Focus on bloggers at the beginning and end of the news cycle – where they have the greatest impact – and emphasize mainstream media in the meaty middle. It’s akin to the time-tested approach of pre-briefing analysts before you hit the press. Here’s how
Steve Rubel’s Four Steps to Pitching Into the News Curve
- Identify Leading Blog Influencers – Use Google, Bloglines and other tools to identify the webloggers who are most relevant to your sector, have a decent readership and inbound links and are frequently quoted and/or referenced in the mainstream press. I explain how to do this here.
- Plant the Seed with the Bloggers – Give a bloggers the opportunity to break the story. Pre-brief them on key announcements. Yes, I am saying give them scoops. Be sure you are selective. Choose bloggers who appear to be reputable and will be appreciative that you are giving them a heads up on your news before anyone else. These include people like John Battelle, Rafat Ali, Cory Bergman, Gary Price and others.
- Hit the Mainstream Press – Once your story is out in the blogosphere, issue the release on a wire and pitch the press as you usually do. Rather than start with the big guys, focus first instead on the folks who regularly quote the influencers you already have pre-briefed.
- Regenerate the Story with Other Bloggers – On the back side of the news curve, once you have landed an article or two keep the buzz going. As practice, regularly send any story placement links out to other bloggers to share/comment.
This is simply one way to pitch into the long tail curve of news. I am sure there are more. If you have ideas, please continue the dialogue by sharing them here so we can all learn from your wisdom.
Steve Rubel is a PR strategist with nearly 16 years of public relations, marketing, journalism and communications experience. He currently serves as a Senior Vice President with Edelman, the largest independent global PR firm.
He authors the Micro Persuasion weblog, which tracks how blogs and participatory journalism are changing the public relations practice.
