Unless you have been living on a deserted island with no Wi-Fi connection, you know that news is increasingly being consumed by online audiences. As evidence, look no further than the decline of print newspapers and their evolution to online content delivery. It makes sense then for media professionals to explore the potential behind serving up important media events online, too.
This spring, we saw President Barack Obama hold an interactive public press conference on the White House Web site — the first of any presidential administration — that solicited questions from citizens (the press were not allowed to participate). This type of virtual outreach will no doubt serve as a model for media professionals who are seeking to test the possibilities of “new media” events. So, how do you launch a successful online news conference?
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Before you can answer that question, you will need to first weigh a variety of strategic and tactical questions to make sure this approach is suitable for your particular announcement or media event. Many of those considerations boil down to who your audience is and how to control your message — already the hallmarks of good media relations planning.
Prepare for a greater level of unpredictability
David Meerman Scott, author of The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing, and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly, believes holding a news conference online is an ideal way to spread your message far and wide. But be prepared for a greater level of unpredictability in how information trickles down through the various media channels for consumption.
“I’m just a huge believer in, I use this phrase, ‘organizations losing control,’ and that requires from the strategic perspective casting the net a lot further than most people usually have done, and further than a lot of organizations at this stage are comfortable doing,” says Meerman Scott.
This, of course, means opening up the online press forum to non-mainstream media. “Meaning the people who are attending are not just people who are going to listen politely, ask a few questions, and go back and write up a broadcast or story after having thought about it a while,” says Meerman Scott. “That challenge is a little bit difficult for some organizations that are used to exerting control over their messaging to get their arms around [it].”
Part of what’s behind the notion of “losing control of the message” is the inherent dynamic nature of online mediums; bloggers and social networking gadflies can easily tune into an online news conference and live blog or Tweet about it as it is happening, says Meerman Scott.
| “Traditional press conferences have expectations that have been built over decades that cannot be forgotten: feeling of exclusivity, real interaction, a sense of community with other journalists. Those expectations need to be ported over into the online environment.” |
Scott Schneider, director of Ruder Finn Interactive, acknowledges this risk — the potential to lose control of your message — and says the online news conference model may not be for everyone. “In this case, it really depends on the sector or industry you are working in. Some sectors simply tend to be more sensitive than others and information access needs more control, therefore that raises issues online,” he says.
Promote participation on a global level
Other strategic considerations involve the advantages the medium itself offers. Key advantages of going digital with your news conference are “convenience and geographic irrelevance for the attendees,” Schneider says. Media professionals and amateurs alike are “very busy, so anything that can help attendance is a plus,” he says.
Meerman Scott agrees. “I think what’s so exciting about something like this is that people can participate from anywhere, and that means there may be people who would be compelled to participate who the organization doesn’t even know,” he says.
One downside to the online news conference format is the loss of the “in-person” camaraderie to which the media are accustomed. Schneider says that “traditional press conferences have expectations that have been built over decades that cannot be forgotten: feeling of exclusivity, real interaction, a sense of community with other journalists. Those expectations need to be ported over into the online environment.”
But the opportunity to spread your message beyond traditional news outlets may override the storied history behind typical news conferences. As a blogger himself at WebInkNow.com, Meerman Scott opines about online media strategy to an audience of approximately 20- to 30,000. “If I’m not invited to a news conference, but then I happen to see it happening because I find it on Google through a search, or somebody Tweets about it and I find out about it that way and I participate, that’s providing the organizers with a potential audience that they didn’t even think about. So it has a really good opportunity to spread the exposure to what it is the organization wants to say beyond their known media.”
Know how your audience consumes content
For Scott Monty, global digital and multimedia communications manager at Ford Motor Company, it’s all about knowing your audience. He suggests media and PR professionals make sure that the people they are trying to reach are in fact connected online. It may be obvious to say, but many media professionals who get caught up in the buzz and novelty of social networking and Webcasting could easily overlook that key piece of online press conference planning. “There is no sense in spending your time doing that if you are not going to have any kind of effect,” he says.
Monty, who advises on all strategy involving social media activities at Ford, also suggests determining how your audience likes to consume their online content. “If you are going to do an online news conference, make your content is available in as many media as possible. People are busy these days and some like to consume audio content so they can multi-task,” for example, he says.
That could mean making the old-fashioned press release available online next to the link to the news conference Webcast, along with perhaps an audio podcast of the media event. “You need to, again, assess what your audience is capable of, what they expect, and provide it to them,” Monty says.
Design a smart moderating plan
If you choose to open up your online news conference to the world, it is important to have a plan in place on how to moderate questions. Scott suggests designating a moderator — or two — on the media relations team whose job it is to monitor all incoming Web-based questions from email, Twitter, instant messenger, and the like and field them to the spokesperson. That same person or another team member should monitor the phone line or the actual room where the news conference is taking place for questions if it’s also being done in a live setting.
Either way, “I think it is a really good idea to ask a question that came in from a blogger or that came in from somebody on an online channel so that it’s clear to bloggers that this organization is open to answering questions from anybody,” Meerman Scott says.
| “The ‘nuts and bolts’ do seem trivial at first, but much like anything, it is the user experience that can make or break the event, so these can’t be seen as ‘just details.'” |
In an era of tight travel budgets, media professionals may also appreciate the “economic efficiency” of online press conferences, whether they choose to target just a few media outlets, or spread their message far and wide.
“You cut down on the travel costs of journalists who have to attend your event, who would usually storm the podium after, say, an executive gives a talk,” Monty says. In terms of setup, online press conferences are really no different than quarterly conference calls that are commonly conducted by companies to report their financial statements, he says, with analysts queued up on the phone to ask questions.
Technical tools and logistics
Technically-speaking, when launching an online news conference, it is not critical to have a video component, but it helps in making the media event that much more “live.” Work closely with your information technology department to set up the capability to stream video, or, if you are on a tight budget and doing this solo, investigate free streaming Web sites such as Ustream.tv or CamStreams.com.
“The ‘nuts and bolts’ do seem trivial at first, but much like anything, it is the user experience that can make or break the event, so these can’t be seen as ‘just details,'” Schneider says.
Other logistical requirements include a unique URL to promote, and if you want to track attendance, a place for reporters to register their RSVP. If you want the conference to be exclusive, set it up so a password is required to gain entry to the URL.
There are no hard and fast rules that always apply to how to set up the online press conference, Schneider says. Each organization or company will have its own individual needs and limitations, since logistical considerations such as screening, moderation, and broadcast options depend on available budget and resources.
Having a support network in place that will not be overwhelmed if attendance exceeds expectations is also important. “Details of closed online events can easily be leaked online via Twitter and other tools, so it’s important to consider,” Schneider says.
Is an online press conference an advantageous business decision?
Launching a press conference online is clearly good for democracy, but is it good for business?
“There is no question in my mind that getting information out quickly and with transparency is a really good thing. But I would give some thought to what is the kind of news that you are trying to get out there and is this method the right method to get that information out there,” Scott says.
“I can imagine a company, if they had to deliver a bad earnings report, they’d have to think twice if about whether they want to open up this channel. I would still recommend doing it because you get the information out more quickly, you show that you are willing to answer those questions, and you show that you are willing to answer them of anybody, not just hand-picked people. But that’s certainly a consideration of whether that’s the right approach for all organizations.”
Jennifer Pullinger is a Richmond, Va.-based writer and communications professional with more than 10 years of experience in marketing, media relations, and journalism.
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