As we all know, communicating and marketing via the online medium is hotting up. It seems to have reached a frenzy in 09 with business owners and marketing managers wanting to be involved in the frenzy and the PR and Advertising industry trying to keep up and offer clients effective social media marketing solutions. This year alone I’ve attended several events regarding the social media issue and we’ve even hosted one ourselves.
Despite all the panic about getting brands into the online space what I have noticed is that the majority of our clients generally don’t value appearing in an online article nearly as much as they do appearing in print in a traditional medium such as a magazine or newspaper that can be purchased from the newsagent. This is despite the fact that moving their brand into the online space was a clear part of their brief and when we commenced the campaign.
It doesn’t matter if you give clients all the statistics about the percentage of consumers who are now getting their news updates and their media fix from online sources. It seems that to most business owners their feeling is that an article in the online arena or contributing in the right way to a relevant blog isn’t as ‘real’ or valuable as a traditional piece of media exposure.
This observation has really made me put all the social media panic in perspective. The PR industry is definitely moving in the right direction in incorporating social media into campaigns however I do feel there will always be a place for traditional media as most clients value exposure in publications that it can feel and touch or watch and listen to.
What would you value more – exposure in a physical magazine or its online equivalent? I would love to know your reasons.
