The irony of posting this on LinkedIn is not lost on me but whilst many sectors are having a tough time right now, I want to shine a light on the trade press for just one moment because every profession needs it.

I talk a lot about ‘Pervasive PR’ and when every communication strand is connected skilfully it is incredibly powerful, however this does mean that the world is overflowing with information of varying quality and credibility, that generally comes in three forms:

1) Paid for advertising

2) Social media channels that businesses and individuals own

3) Objective editorial – the purest form and the hardest won but by far the most valuable.

There are 3 key reasons why all professions should treasure the trade press that they have:

  • It subjects a credible profession to vital scrutiny.
  • It brings ideas of a profession together so we can share, collaborate and compete. And good competition should be embraced – it makes everyone better.
  • It gives true third party endorsement to the best out there. I am not talking about the ‘love’ we all get from social media (which also has its place), I am talking about allowing ideas to be examined, interrogated and celebrated by authorative voices.

Now here is the rub – like all businesses they can’t exist on fresh air, they need the support of everyone who wants to feature and reach the audience that has amassed through many years of producing compelling and challenging content. Relatively new professions have been developed and sustained with the continued support of third party publications, becoming an integral part of the infrastructure.

This isn’t a dig at the investment businesses make in social media because it is a very important platform and Informare spend a lot of time working with our clients producing quality content.  However, the communications mix is an intricate and complex one; it requires clear vision, thought and appropriate tonality to build an effective communications strategy in which every communications platform is used appropriately.

Imagine for a moment where the only measure of a sector is looking through the lens of social media, where judgement and endorsement is made by existing networks (which by definition are limited), where quantity is often prized above quality. What we need is greater connectivity between all mediums to realise the true potential of our messaging.

We all need to be held to account professionally, otherwise this is just politics without parliament, which is no good at all!