I recently had this excellent question posed to me, and in turn, asked you for your thoughts. While I suspect that some of you are still pondering your answers, I promised to send a summary. Not surprisingly, the answers crossed generational lines and seemed to depend upon the audience you're trying to reach.
The simplest answer appears to be that, today, thought leaders are heard everywhere and nowhere. While an earned op-ed in the The New York Times or a Column One piece in The Wall Street Journal would anchor a thought leader’s voice in the “old days”, today is a brand new game. Nate Dybvig of Politics in Minnesota says while still a nice feather in his cap, “My focus is no longer on getting one great hit as much as it is on getting a dozen solid hits from any outlet I can find, traditional or new media, that will get my message in front of the right people.”
And as for television news programming, former senior 3M corporate communications and marketing director Mary Auvin wrote, “Traditional news programming no longer has the influence it once did. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert create much more buzz.”
There does seem to be a consensus that news aggregators, those who are in the business of grabbing content from many sites and summarizing it, have become a very powerful force in people’s daily digest of news. Whether the sites are organized by a point-of-view, or area of industry, they are growing in influence. And this, of course, makes it harder for thought leaders to reach broad audiences.
One area in which consensus is not clear is the importance of blogs and micro-blogs (i.e.,Twitter). Twenty-something public affairs writer Andrea Lahouze told me that blogs are “the purest, most credible source of news today. They are unfiltered, direct and up-to-the-minute.” Others of you are still waiting for blogs to prove themselves and are more likely to engage a blogger only to correct information.
But there is consensus that , as Mary Auvin said, “Snippets sell”. Whether for a blog, online publication, or radio show, shorter key messages win out.
To that end, a few summary points about how thoughts leaders can be heard:
- Mainstream media is still an important way to reach broad audiences. While its monopoly is gone and its influence diminishing, major media remain a critical part of the mix for most effective thought leaders.
- News aggregators are rapidly growing in dominance.
- Segmenting audiences is more important than ever. Segment both by the age of the reader and maturity of the industry you're trying to reach. Note: "Newer industries" will not be as rooted in traditional media sources.
I am finding that this year is the most exciting year I’ve had in the communications business. And I look forward to mastering the ever-changing landscape and continuing the dialogue with you.
Lindsay
