Business re-modelling with a social media slant is vital for small PR firms to stay relevant
As new normal abounds in the way we behave, live and work, I recently endeavoured to re-model my business strategies as a small (one-man) agency specialising in the provision of media-related services.
Having reflected on the business outlook front, I have come to terms with the reality that the COVID-19 pandemic is very likely to negatively impact one of my more clientele – the print media industry (even those with online presence).
Amid shrinking advertising revenue – and the deadly respiratory disease does provide the final nail in the coffin – many publishing houses across the world have been forced to shut down their operations or are bleeding heavily financially.
Thus, re-modelling is not only the viable option, but a necessity for the survival of the business which I registered on 23 April 2018 in pursuit of my entrepreneurial spirit after having completed a 25-year stint in the realm of daily, weekly and monthly print/online media.
Going back to basics
As I researched for the right re-modelling strategies, a quote originated by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates but “modified to perfection” by renowned Internet personality Gary Vaynerchuk struck the cord – “Content is King but context is God”.
Further augmenting my sense of business direction is a PR buddy (he occasionally hires me for content writing jobs) who contributed the final piece of my otherwise complicated ‘re-modelling’ jig-saw puzzle:
“… best that you focus on the next generation media; owning and curating your own digital platform, developing yourself into a KOL (key opinion leader)/influencer and providing digital amplification services … so marketers or even agencies can use you to reach out to certain segments of society … so you now become editor/writer/sub/designer/video/publisher/KOL ... that is the next generation journalist …”
His opinion jives with my unwavering passion in writing (generating content) whether opinion editorial, business, technology, lifestyle, health or sports in nature. Except that I have to inevitably switch to social media as the platform to post my content.
Unfamiliar territory or otherwise, I am resolute to explore a new frontier by embracing social media as my next platform. Moving forward, the challenge lies in consolidating my asset (i.e. writing skill and flair) to create a content that is suited for social media networks (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc).
Best of both worlds
For a month-and-a-half now, I have focused my energy to do a SWAT analysis on social media with the ultimate objective of how to rejuvenate my writing style to suit the various social media sites whose consumption has grown by leaps and bounds in the wake up of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In so doing, I’m confronted with a chicken and egg situation every writer or content provider would encounter – I might be an old school writer with ample writing foundation but I lack knowledge on the stylistic of social media content versus a budding writer who is well-versed on generating social media content but lacking writing exposure.
As I strive to master how to effectively apply the rule of SEO (search engine optimisation) into my diction, I came to realisation that whether one method may work better than the other is very much dependent on the goal or strategy of a particular brand that one is promoting.
I agree with communications specialist Jessica Lawlor that instead of thinking who – between traditional media (print media, television and radio) and social media – is slowly replacing the other, one should instead think along the line of how both tactics can complement each other to help clients achieve their overall goals.
“One important thing to remember whether incorporating traditional or social media (or both!) into your scope of work is that your strategy needs to change depending on the medium,” Lawlor rightly points out. “Traditional media public relations tactics are going to be very different from the tactics you take on social media.”
Going global
Against the backdrop of many businesses languishing from the on-going lockdown effect to contain the spread of COVID-19 (which may require a year or two to recover), the re-modelling of my business focus also entails a re-branding exercise to transform my existing business operation into a “global factory” for the churning of content of sorts in the English language.
The outward looking decision was made in view of today’s borderless world and the very fact that my home market (I am operating out of Kuala Lumpur) has become a very competitive and saturated market.
No doubt the decision may sound too outrageous given I am venturing into an alien territory, but I see this as a “nothing to lose but much to gain” game changer to insulate my business against global economic uncertainties.
Validating my point of a rather bleak outlook ahead is the recent study by fintech lender MarketFinance of 678 agencies across the marcomms realm in the UK – including PR and communications – in which 72% of the respondents reported that their clients plan to freeze marketing spend to shore up cash flow due to the impact of the coronavirus.
“This has left 85% of agencies concerned they will run out of money by June, and 75% predicting it could be a year before business returns to normal,” the survey published in the PRWeek portal further noted.
Above all else, with my lean and mean modus operandi, I am able to keep the cost down and pass such benefit to both my domestic and overseas clients, many of whom are already severely impacted by the COVID-19 menace.
At the time of writing, I am in the midst of finalising the content for a brand new landing page that I expect to launch in early May 2020.
Only time will tell if I have found the right formula to keep my business afloat. Whatever the outcome, I shall let this quote by English naturalist Charles Darwin fuels my journey – “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, not the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”