The Valley (Finally) Discovers the Value of Going Direct

Does an idea have any inherent value if it can’t be tweeted out as an attack on someone? Even if it’s been in practice for years, used by thousands, does it really count if you can’t use it as a pithy way to dismiss a whole group of people?

Fortunately for all of us, the idea of “going direct” has finally been made legitimate by the denizens of Twitter, sorry X (that still hurts.) But of course, like most things on there, it’s not quite as simple as it’s being portrayed.

For more than a decade, good people in communications have advocated for their clients to increase investment in the channels they own (websites, blogs, social accounts, their own product surfaces, etc.) and where their customers tend to be (social platforms, video hubs, etc.) The best people in comms have been advocating for balancing that investment with targeted press engagement to reach audiences where the press still matter.

This isn’t a new debate, it’s one I vividly remember having with clients – and colleagues outside San Francisco – when I was at Brunswick in the early 2010s. (Fun side note: some of those being most vocal about “going direct” on X today work for investment firms that were adamantly against the idea when it came to their portfolio companies? ten years ago.)?

Now, just as then, the key part, the hard part, is understanding the audience you’re trying to reach and what influences them.

I’m going to share a couple examples and then some ideas for clients and counselors on how to embrace direct audience reach as part of a more comprehensive strategy that works.

A couple examples.

• At Twitter in 2019 and 2020, we made a conscious decision to share any major announcements on Twitter first. People using the platform were our top priority, and reaching them through Twitter itself was a lot more likely to reach them than going? through The New York Times. But we still went to the Times, and the Post, and all the others because they were the best way to officially get on the record in front of authorities in DC and major investment firms. In between, we hit dozens of podcasts that reached very specific audiences — from Joe Rogan all the way down to a basketball podcast run by a college student. It gave Jack a chance to talk directly to audiences that were unlikely to have a WSJ login.

• At Ancestry, our goals were wildly different, which required wildly different (and incredibly unsexy) tactics. The strategy was simply: have someone on some local news broadcast somewhere in the middle of the country unveil their DNA results every day. Local news remained incredibly important in the lives of Ancestry’s core customers, and this pretty boring approach helped move tons of DNA kits. We supplemented this through work with a few key influencers who had significant sway within communities where we saw strong growth opportunities and a lack of trust in media.

There’s not much in either of those examples that’s particularly groundbreaking — and that’s the point. The most basic tenet of great comms — know your audience — doesn’t change regardless of the shiny new thing. It would be great to live in a world where “just tweet it” replaced the hard, dirty work of getting to understand the people you’re trying to reach, but that’s not this world.

For startups, especially those just trying to build their market with the tech crowd, “just tweet it” might be the best possible answer. But even there, it’s probably more like, “just tweet and also have the follow up conversation on Discord.” Again, there isn’t just one tactic because people are complex, weird things.

The most basic point of the “go direct” crowd I, actually, 100% agree with — press isn’t all there is, and often it’s not the most important or effective vehicle for what you’re trying to achieve. The best comms people I’ve worked with over the years have been preaching and living that gospel for a long time now. It is entirely fair to say that for too long, comms was too invested in media relations as the end-all-be-all. We had the relationships, if you wanted coverage, you needed us. Swinging to a new dogma at the opposite end of the spectrum isn’t any better, it’s another dead-end. Which is why the people who are really good at this have been preaching an approach that embraces elements of both perspectives for years.?

So, you’re ready to embrace this brave new (old) world or reaching people in different ways, here are some tips on getting started:

• Know the audience — Not just the demographics, and general interests, but what really moves them and where do they find it. Maybe video is compelling, or maybe it’s too ephemeral and they need written words. Maybe they engage with humor, or maybe they’re put off by it because of the subject you’re trying to engage on. Maybe they want to formulate their own opinion, maybe there’s a single trusted voice they look to, maybe they still believe in institutions and want that mark of authority. You have to do the leg work and understand these things or it's almost certain you’ll be leaving a ton of opportunity on the table.

• Embrace multiple channels — I don’t care who says otherwise, there is no single approach that works. Twitter was never big enough or influential enough to be your only channel, and X certainly isn’t today. But it’s exceptionally good with a particular audience and segment. No one can convince me that coverage in The New York Times sells products. But it does hold a lot of sway with influential opinion makers who will repeat the things they read.

• Go local — Local news has been devastated, but in its wake there has been a flourishing of blogs, podcasts, and chat groups that have picked up the challenge of keeping people informed about what’s happening in their communities and providing them ways to engage. Nothing is more influential to people than what they encounter and care about on a daily basis. If it’s right for what you’re trying to do, find them and take part.

• Don’t buy or sell the playbook — If you’re a client, do NOT buy from someone who is telling you that there’s just one magical thing you need to do, and it doesn’t matter who you are or what you’re trying to accomplish, this is THE ONE THING YOU MUST DO. It could be a single press interview. It could just be you tweeting, or posting on Linkedin. Anyone coming to you with a single tactical idea dressed up as a strategy is just trying to sell you on a playbook that they know makes lots of money for them without having to do the work for you.

• Let the freak out — We have got to stop trying to train everyone to be yet another copy of some generic ideal spokesperson. People have personalities, they have quirks. It makes them human and it makes other humans interested in what they have to say. A mistake might be made, but mistakes are a hell of a lot better than a canned statement no one believes.

• Stop press releases — Ha! Not really. For some the press release remains a necessity, for others it lends an element of legitimacy they can’t get through other means. But for a lot of companies, it’s worth asking “do we really need to spend the money on this or are we only doing it because everyone else does?” And even if you do decide you have to do it, it’s worth taking the formal format of a release and putting those messages in plain speak in other channels.?

There’s a lot of nuance to every specific situation, and no one LinkedIn post is going to be able to cover everything — maybe you’re in a highly regulated industry, maybe your in a market where trade press is what moves the needle — but these points can be a start in helping you answer the critical question of “how do I best reach and connect with the people I need to help me achieve my goal?”

And at the end of the day, that's what this work is all about.