2009-11-04

Travel PR has Changed #1: Comments & Forums

It used to be the case that we would write a press release, send it out and that would be it. We would hope it generated some coverage, which would be picked up by the press cuttings agency. But once we’d sent out the release, we would essentially move on to the next task or story for the client.

Now, we can’t just leave it at that, it’s important to monitor any coverage in real time – as it will sometimes generate comments. These comments could be positive or negative, and could thus impact on the nature of the coverage. Should a PR agency be allowed to / expected to comment in defence of / to explain something on behalf of a client?

I recently attended a seminar organised by the Tourism Society and Travmedia – speakers included Steve Keenan from Times Online, Lyn Hughes from Wanderlust and Charlotte Walsh from TTGlive. I asked if PRs should be getting involved in comments, forums and ‘communities’.

The answer was a resounding ‘yes’. As long as we stated upfront who we were and what our client was, we would be very welcome. It would be a valid part of the conversation to offer a ‘company line’ or an answer to a question, or to point out any inaccuracies.

I’ll be honest – this is not something we have done much of at all. But we’ll be doing more of it in future – certainly on Times Online, Wanderlust and TTG anyway. I’d be interested to hear from any readers what they think. Should PRs get involved in consumer discussions, or is it an unwelcome step too far?

There’s clearly scope for the South Africa Tourist Board or a relevant tour operator to comment with some useful information on this forum post. But there are some more challenging ones – for example this article on Times Online – loads of airlines mentioned, some positive, some negative – should airline PRs be getting involved here? If so, how?

This post was originally posted by Ian McKee @ mccluskeyinternational.co.uk.
> Read the original post here