In late September, Dr. Georg Kolb, Text 100’s resident communications futurist and PR pragmatist, visited Sydney for a special seminar on the future of communications. He also discussed the development of new media here in Australia and what these new ecosystems will mean for PR practitioners and professional communicators.
The seminar was held, very appropriately, at Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art, overlooking beautiful Sydney Harbour and the iconic Opera House. The invited audience was an eclectic mix of communications professionals, leading business executives, media and influential bloggers.
Dr Kolb’s message was clear: As PR professionals and professional communicators we cannot ignore or dismiss the changes that are occurring in the media landscape. The rise of new media, such as blogging, social networks, wikis and peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms, are fundamentally changing the way people communicate, and our goal as PR professionals and as the trusted advisors to our clients is to ensure that we are abreast of these developments.
Since the rise of new media, there have been several examples of corporations attempting to interact with these audiences and failing in spectacular fashion. Now there seems to be a certain amount of ‘corporate hesitation’ in engaging with people in these communities, so how do we assist our clients in overcoming this?
The answer, as Dr. Kolb explained, was in truly understanding the way in which people are forming these new social networks, the platforms they are using to communicate and most importantly, what they are talking about.
To begin to do this we have to understand that the market that we are now operating in is significantly more fragmented than it was a decade ago. The traditional model of ‘push’ communications, where we use the media to amplify our message out to our target publics is being replaced by a new matrix model where our publics, influencers and market now have the opportunity and voice to reciprocally communicate.
The concept of tailoring our messages to suit our publics in order to be effective communicators is not new; however, with the rise of platforms such as blogs, not only are our publics talking back, but we are expected to engage them in real-time discussions.
From a corporate perspective it’s not hard to imagine why this would terrify some organisations. No longer is it appropriate to control and filter executive communications. The blogosphere is incredibly sceptical of communication that has a clear corporate agenda. Dr. Kolb explained that what is needed is transparency and authenticity. If you can achieve this for your client, the benefits can be significant.
So what are the first steps to take when our clients decide that they wish to step into this space?
The first is to listen. Know who the key influencers are, their reach and what they are talking about. After this, decide on how you are going to engage with them, always remembering to be transparent and authentic.
Give your messages resonance. Don’t engage just for the sake of it. Make sure that when you communicate your messages are clear, concise and distinctive.
Finally, Dr. Kolb reminded everyone that this process isn’t about getting coverage like traditional media relations--it's about directly engaging your audience, building relationships with your market and most importantly, being part of the discussion.
I’m excited to be leading a pre-conference workshop on social media next Sunday at the International Association of Business Communicator’s (IABC) International Conference here in New York. 
