How can PR pros respond to declining consumer trust?
The numbers are dismal for legacy organizations and groups trying to patch up sullied reputations. Here are tactics to counteract the loss of faith in traditional media.
Whom do you trust? Whom does your audience trust?
There is a boatload of data (the Edelman Trust Barometer is particularly compelling) about the growing distrust of traditional media—a phenomenon that, though present in pockets around the world, is spiking in the U.S.
Spin Sucks asked PR professionals if they’ve had to justify their earned media efforts differently. What’s the right (and wrong) way to make the case for earned media in a declining-trust world?
Many PR pros were ready to share their thoughts.
A healthy dose of skepticism
Not everyone believes there’s an issue.
Long-time PR pro Mary Barber weighed in:
“The short answer is no. But its because programs are based in measurable objectives and media relations is but a tactic within a larger context. Proving any tactic will help meet that goal is part of the sell-in process.”
Christopher Penn suggested that earned media is as effective as ever, if you measure appropriately:
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