The business side of photography
This may be old news to some but ten months ago, public relations firm Edelman published its annual Goodpurpose survey that studies the relationship between consumer attitudes and corporate social purpose.
For those who are fans of the TV game show Jeopardy!, I’ll phrase it in the form of a question: How does a company’s community involvement affect consumer behaviour?
Some of the key findings from the survey:
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There’s no doubt about it. Favourable media coverage will increase the credibility of any business. If the news media report on a company’s press release or interview its executives, that business will benefit from the “media blessing.”
A business that gets mentioned in the news will have its image enhanced and gain public attention. A favourable public perception also means that company can avoid competing on price. When the media “blesses” a business by running a positive story on that company, the public will consider that business to be reputable and worthwhile. This can help justify that company’s pricing.
Paid advertising only increases name recognition but good public relations can increase consumer trust. People do business only with those they trust.
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In my tiny corner of the Web, (i.e. this blog), I’ve mentioned that the best thing a business can do for its marketing photography and public relations photography is to hire a photographer with a journalism background.
I’ve also written that one of the best things a company should be doing to enhance its brand, increase public awareness and even do a little good for their community is to put editorial content on its corporate web site, (e.g. photojournalism, photo essays, documentaries).
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The Oriella PR Network just released its 2011 Digital Journalism Study. This annual survey looks at the impact of digital media on journalism. It also studies how journalists use social media in their research.
A key finding of this survey is that 62% of journalists depend on press releases and media handouts for story ideas. Press releases are the first stop for journalists looking for information. Press releases are viewed as more valuable and more trustworthy than blogs, Facebook pages, Twitter or any other type of social media.
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In a few days, this December 31st will mark the 30th anniversary of the death of Canadian university professor, philosopher and author Marshall McLuhan.
Over 40 years ago, McLuhan made many interesting observations about mass communications that still apply in today’s World Wide Web, which was launched almost exactly ten years after McLuhan’s death.
One of his most well-known sayings, “The medium is the message”, from the 1960s, seems to describe the Web perfectly.
Some McLuhan quotes which apply to the World Wide Web:
“The new electronic interdependence recreates the world in the image of a global village.”
While looking through a number of media handout photos from a national grocery store chain or at least from its public relations agency, it’s obvious that all of the pictures fail to meet basic journalism standards.
Everyone in a photo must be identified. In a fully-controlled situation like a set-up publicity picture, this is easy to do. An improperly-captioned photo shows not only laziness and carelessness on the part of the photographer and the public relations agency, but also a lack of understanding of journalism and the needs of a newspaper.
Naming only one person in a group and then expecting viewers to figure out who’s who is a failure. A company may know its executives but the public does not. Why make readers guess?
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Is that phrase an oxymoron? Maybe the two words should be mutually exclusive?
How about the terms “business journalism” or “editorial business”? Perhaps “editorial marketing” might be more accurate?
This post is about how businesses can benefit from having editorial content and even outright journalism on their web sites. This is not to be confused with public relations or marketing. The benefits of quality and timely editorial content can equal and even surpass that of a company’s public relations or marketing efforts.
