Media's Mixed Messages Open Door for Direct-to-Consumer Communications

At Taylor Johnson, we believe media relations is a key component to a successful PR strategy, but we’re also strongly urging clients to integrate direct-to-consumer communications into their PR programs. This week’s contradictory and confusing news on housing is a prime reason why.

• From Terry Savage’s “Savage Truth Column” in the March 24 Chicago Sun-Times: “Can you expect home sales to rise? That remains to be seen, but it looks like we’re off to a good start. Sales of existing homes edged up to a surprising 4.72 million in February.”

• Very next page. Headline: “Home Sales Plunge in February”. Lede: Existing home sales in Chicago plunged 40.4 percent in February from a year earlier, and the median price dropped 24.7 percent, the Illinois Association of Realtors said Monday.

• Turn to the March 24 Daily Herald. Headline: “Local Home Sales Climb”

It’s easy to understand how someone who’s considering a major transaction such as a home sale or purchase could be confounded to the point of inaction. On one page we’re saved. On the next we’re doomed. And every day is more of the same. So people sit on the sidelines and wait for clear direction.

That direction must come from you.

About a year ago, when the housing market started to get really choppy, Doug Ayers, president of Koenig & Strey GMAC said something that really stuck with me. To paraphrase: ‘Don’t confuse information with knowledge.'

Today, there is no lack of information. But consumers are tired of information. They want knowledge. And who better to provide it than you? Who knows your product better? Who knows your market better? Who knows your customers better? You’re in a unique position to provide real insights; and, with the help of today’s new media tools, to facilitate a two-way conversation that will help your customers learn more about you – and just as importantly, help you learn more about your customers.

Here are a few tips for direct-to-consumer communications that should score with consumers looking for knowledge, not just information.

• Use data from a credible, objective third-party source, such as an industry trade association or independent research organization.
• Provide analysis to tell the story behind the numbers. Point out anomalies that skew data.
• Create opportunities for consumers to request more information – and funnel into your sales cycle.
• Educate, don’t sell. In the new-media world consumers choose you, not the other way around.
• Track the results of your campaigns with unique landing pages and analytics tools.
• Time is of the essence. Respond to news and events as they unfold so you can help your customers form opinions or determine what it means to them.
• Target your message to your audience. That's something the mass media can't do, and it's the whole point of direct-to-consumer communications.