What the Vocus Acquisition of HARO Means for the PR Business
Mashable is reporting that Vocus, a developer of software for the public relations industry, will acquire Help a Reporter Out (HARO), the wildly popular service that connects journalists with sources.
HARO, which started out as a Facebook group, quickly surged to be a fantastic resource for both PR professionals and journalists. The service caught on quickly because it is free for both journalists and PR types, whereas the leader in the space, Profnet, is subscription based.
The terms of acquisition are undisclosed, but the purpose of the deal, according to the Mashable report, is to "further both companies' missions of shifting control in the public relations cycle back to journalists."
According to the report, the service will remain free, and will continue to offer ad-supported daily newsletter that has a 50-60% open rate. Founder Peter Shankman said in the Mashable report that his new role will be continuing to grow and build the HARO service, saying, “I get to continue presenting my vision of social media and bring that to Vocus. It’s the best of all possible worlds.”
So, what does this mean for the PR industry? Well, here are three thoughts:
Competitiveness
Profnet has long been the leader in this space, but the cost of entry could have been too much for some to embrace the service. For example, non-profits, who are boot-strapped as it is, can't afford to folk over a monthly expense that has no return in investment. Yes, if a query is pitched correctly and matched the journalists requests, it might end up as a great showcase clip. However, those are few and far between in my opinion (as someone who has been using Profnet for over 10 years).
This move will force Profnet to look at the delivery model for sure.
Social Media Driving Cost Factors
With the popularity of HARO being built via social media, it has a great test case for those online services that are looking for high adoption and quickly. Ad-supported services can work if they deliver the content. HARO clearly does that and Vocus saw an opportunity to snatch a brand that is well know with PR types and journalists. This move wouldn't have happened if HARO was launched as a pay service from the outset. The social aspect of the service simply made it accessible to everyone — agency types, client side execs, non-profits and the like.
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