Traditional vs. Digital: Why You Shouldn't Choose One

Digital seems to be the newest and greatest thing in communication in the last twenty years. It’s like a shiny new toy that everyone has to have and can’t think of anything else. In the industry’s great excitement over digital, they've nearly completely forgotten about traditional media and the value they hold. But PR pros don’t have to choose between either digital or traditional because the most effective communication campaign engages its audience using a mix of both.

Pros of Print

• It’s an experience. Studies have proven that print material creates a sensory experience for readers as they thumb through pages or write out notes. They’re also more likely to remember information they read in print through this physical interaction compared to reading it on screen.
• Print permanence. Longevity may not be your first thought when you think of print but readers tend to revisit printed material even after they’ve read it. This allows your message to get across time after time.
• Credibility. People generally tend to believe the written word so there’s a level of credibility that comes with print. A message seems more legitimate to readers when it is presented in print as opposed to online.

Pros of Digital

• It’s timely. Digital allows you to share your message instantly. This way, your content can stay current and up to date. Possibly the best example of the power of being timely is Oreo’s notorious Super Bowl blackout Tweet. 
• Highly interactive. Digital allows for interactivity with a target audience in a way print could never achieve. Readers can comment, share and engage with others bringing the experience to a whole new level.
• Available analytics. With digital, it’s simple to track who is reading your content, how long they’re on your page and even if they share it. Having access to this information will allow you to better target your content in the future.

You’re able to reach your target audience in a number of ways by using both media.  Creating a balance in your message with a marriage of traditional and digital media is the ideal way to create an effective public relations campaign.  

Measuring the Success of a PR Campaign

It is that time of year again for PRowl Public Relations when we begin working on evaluating the work we have done for our clients. Evaluating a PR campaign is an important final step and can provide valuable information for both the client and PR professional. With today’s technology and increasing social media platforms, there is also an increasing need to know what companies are doing right and where they can improve. Companies are going to rely on their PR professionals to give them this information.

Even though this step is a vital part of a campaign, it is often forgotten or skipped over. If this part of the campaign is missed, how can you tell if the hard work you did was a success or not? Without this evaluation, you would not improve your work moving forward. Below is alist that highlights what I think are some of the most important outcomes an evaluation can provide:

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    Learn your strengths: Through a final evaluation, you can assess the success of your team’s strengths based off of what areas the data shows that you did well.

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   Determine what was effective: Whether it is an event, a written analysis or a rebranding of a company, it is important to know if what you did accomplished the goals and objectives that you had laid out originally.

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   Hard numbers for future reference: A campaign evaluation utilizes many hard facts and statistics to show what was accomplished for the duration of the campaign. For instance, was there a percentage increase in the number of Facebook “likes” or how many people actually attended an event in comparison to the number that was invited?

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   Suggestions for improvement/future work: If you do not stop and asses the success of a campaign, you will never learn how to improve and will just continue to implement the same plans over and over. An evaluation can help you determine which areas need improvement and help you grow as a companyand as a professional.

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   Learn from your mistakes: Along with the good things that an evaluation will tell you, there are also areas where you went wrong. You can then take this information and learn from it moving forward.

Do you think there are any other positive outcomes of evaluating a PR campaign? Share your experiences in the comments section below!

This guest blog post was written by PRowl Staff Member Kaitlyn Mashack.