In 2009, Twitter and Google alter face of PR

Social media to be followed and feared; journalists set up their own shops; these predictions and more for PR and media relations

If you were hoping you could ignore social media for another year, forget it.

In 2009, you have no excuse for remaining a Luddite. As traditional media accelerate their death spiral, social media might be the only media left to pitch. Here’s what some prognosticators say about media relations in the coming year:

Google reigns: Your prominence on Google—or lack thereof—could make or break your 2009 PR program, says Andy Murphy, principal of Davies Murphy Group in Burlington, Mass.

“Agencies that don’t understand this, or fail to educate clients in how media relations plays into organic search engine optimization, will have a difficult 2009,” Murphy predicts. “In a tough economy, traditional media relations usually wind up on the nice-to-have list when companies consider budget cuts. Search engine optimization, now experiencing its first recession as a standard marketing function, will be near the top of the must-have list.”