What Will Small Business PR Look Like in 10 Years?
Can you imagine how easy our jobs would be if we could see the future? I want to take a minute to look at what small business PR will look like ten years and hopefully this information can help you get a head start on what is to come.
Now, I obviously don't have any mystic powers so none of this will be a sure thing. But I have worked in this industry for ten years, which is a good basis to make a few educated guesses. I've seen so much change, that this is really just drawing the line from what was, to what is, to what may be.
Here are three ways I see PR changing and how that will impact small businesses.
Print Outlets Will Be Obsolete
Ten years ago, I was almost exclusively pitching to print publications with just a few online outlets here and there. Now, that is totally flipped. I am mostly pitching online outlets, that's what most people read anyway, and every now and then I pitch a story for print.
Ten years from now, I don't think there will be many print outlets to pitch at all. We'll all be exclusively pitching online outlets. ...if that is even still a thing!
How Will This Affect Small Business PR?
I think this is a good thing. Even if it seems more esteemed to be featured in a printed magazine, that magazine is ephemeral. When something is published on the Internet, it lives there forever, which adds strength to your online presence and SEO.
And once printed magazines are a thing of the past, online publications will absorb their esteem making it equally impressive to be published online.
There Will Be Even More Hyper-Specific Publications
Nowadays, anyone can start a blog, podcast, or even a media outlet. As more and more publications are created, each has to become more specialized to stand out from the crowd.
I've had a lot of clients come to me wanting to be in the big generic publications such as Forbes, Fortune, Entrepreneur, etc. And while those publications are great for credentialing, hyper-local and hyper-focused publications are the best way to get through the noise.
In ten years, I think people will seek out more hyper-segmented publications based on their interests and location rather than large general publications.
How Will This Affect Small Business PR?
As the hyper-specific media trend grows, small businesses will be able to identify their best PR opportunities with ease.
Do this little thought experiment with me, pretending your business sells (Dunder Mifflin) paper.
If you only have time to email one media contact, which publication would be the best to reach potential customers? Fortune, Forbes, or Entrepreneur? What about a publication called "We Still Print" that delivers news for businesses still using paper to get business done?
Obviously, the publication that targets people who print! The others are kind of a toss-up.
Publications Will Find New Ways to Make Money
Advertising and subscription sales are not sustaining modern media, so publications are having to innovate to find new revenue streams.
Right now, there are already a lot of pay-for-play media opportunities such as native sponsored content and publications are finding new ways to get an affiliate commission for the products they recommend.
Going forward, I expect the media to continue inventing new ways to make money.
How Will This Affect Small Business PR?
Frankly, I have no idea what kinds of revenue streams will be common in ten years. It will probably go in the pay-to-play and split-revenue direction but the details are TBD.
What this means for you, especially if you plan on being in business in ten years, is that you should take the opportunity now to get your name in the media while there are still ample earned media opportunities!