The media team vs. the content team

Many of the large organizations I work with partition their communications between what they call “the media team” and “the content team.” But there’s a better strategy than divide and conquer.

The media team usually grinds out pitches with fingers crossed they’ll land. And sometimes they’ll admit to looking over the cube wall at the content team and thinking, “They’ve got it easy – all they’ve gotta do is write blog posts and shoot videos all day.”

Meanwhile, the content team is wracking their brains trying to come up with new ideas at the same time they’re struggling to hit their page view targets. They, in turn, look at the media team and grumble, “They’ve got it easy – all they’ve gotta do is send a few emails and make a few phone calls.”

But in the reality of today’s hypercompetitive content and media landscape, both teams need the other to succeed.

Take this example. You’re trying to get coverage for a study your employer or client commissioned and you’re following the old model of giving it to the media first. But nobody’s biting.

What if you could show them that your company’s blog post with the preliminary findings has 10 times the usual amount of views? Or that it has an equally significant number of social shares? That social proof that this topic is interesting will often push previously uncertain journalists off the fence.

And then the coverage you earn brings third-party credibility to your study, which helps the content team generate more direct traffic. And so on.

Think the media won’t cover something if it’s “already out there”? Not anymore. In many cases, they are outsourcing news judgement to online performance metrics.

In fact, you should be more worried that the media won’t cover something unless they can be assured that you’ll deliver an audience that will boost their own page view counts.

All these changes and opportunities are exciting! A little nerve-wracking, yes, but anything worth doing usually is. I’ve been taking my Inner Circle members down this road this year, and it’s been invigorating for me to see the light bulbs going off.

Are you still on the fence about this marriage of media relations and content marketing? Or not sure how to implement it?

Then my free webinar next week is for you.

I’ll walk you through the research data and observations from my clients – hundreds, large and small – that validate the shift I’m advocating. And I’ll give you specific takeaways and action items to apply in your own organization, whether this is totally new to you or whether you’ve been applying these principles already.

If you’ve joined me for a webinar previously, this one will be completely different:

Beyond Media: Changes PR pros need to make now to survive and thrive in the 2020s

– Acknowledge the inherent limitations of proactive media relations and how to adapt
– The justification most PR pros give for their work that is actually already obsolete (the emperor has no clothes, and I’m going to tell him)
– The types of outreach and pitching you must get better at to stay ahead of the trends
– The skills beyond pitching that you’ll need to survive in the coming years
– How to better integrate your expertise in earned media with content marketing, social media, and even paid advertising to add more value to your employer

Please register now to join me Wednesday, May 29th, at 12 p.m. Eastern / 9 a.m. Pacific.