In modern media, it’s credibility vs popularity

In the past year or two, as I attended many news conferences, one phenomenon has stood out: Key opinion leaders, or KOLs, now replace seasoned journalists on the front rows at tech fairs, and have taken precedence over traditional media at major industry events.

Wearing goggles or using smartphones, bloggers and internet celebrities broadcast the shows and interact with fans in real time, offering free samples of new products to get fans hooked to their platforms. In the process, they also receive generous tips from followers.

This contrasts sharply with a typical day-job journalist who sits there taking copious notes, asking serious questions, recording speeches and sound bites. It’s not hard to determine which looks more appealing, at least on the surface.

As I see it, journalism as a profession has received a sound shake-up. I believe this is nothing to shy away from. After all, there is something tangible and predictable regarding influencers: the number of their followers, the number of reads and “likes” their posts generate, to name just a few.

An advertising industry veteran once told me the winning recipe for influencers is that they are perceived as quantifiable, in a way that traditional newsrooms sometimes fail to be.

Such traits could be reassuring to public relations specialists who value key performance indicators or KPIs and pitch-to-publication conversion rates as they spend their marketing dollars.

For instance, WeChat, the ubiquitous messaging app with 1 billion users, has become a battleground for content producers. One article with an embedded ad published on the app could be worth up to 1 million yuan (about $144,000).

According to consultancy Analysys, the value of China’s internet celebrity market is tipped to topple 100 billion yuan this year, almost double that of 2016. In contrast, largely due to financial pressures, journalists worldwide appear to be having second thoughts about their chosen profession.

Some of them have even jumped on the PR bandwagon, while others are pondering if they should launch online media platforms of their own.

What about diehard journalists with relevant professional qualifications, years of experience, a wide network of contacts built over aeons, and a flair for writing? I believe they need not turn bitter or jittery as they still have room to survive and thrive amid the digital onslaught.

Objectivity remains the lifeline of serious journalism whereas the digital scene is prone to ad frauds. You can never be sure if the “hit” for an online ad is from a human or a robot/automated software (known as a bot).

Iris Chin, general manager of MediaCom China, said such frauds claim 30 to 40 percent of digital advertising. That is a huge amount of wasted marketing budgets, and underlines why brands must monitor brand safety and ad fraud levels when using digital marketing in China.