There’s a special kind of optimism that comes with a client’s media wish list. “New York Times. NPR. Wall Street Journal.”

And to be fair, those are dream placements for a reason. They carry authority and a certain prestige that makes everyone sit up a little straighter. But lately, I’ve been wondering: Do the people we actually want to reach even read them? And if they do, are they seeing it on the outlet’s app, in their news feed, in print? 

When I think about how I get my own information, it’s a messy mix: 

• My neighborhood news outlet’s Instagram page, Give Me Astoria, for things to do on the weekend 
• My local Reddit group, or the one that’s hyper-specific to women who also watch Sister Wives on TLC
• Sometimes, it’s a TikTok creator who explains how to get tax deductions out of the wedding I’m planning in 2027
• An online creator, journalist or a distant relative reposting articles from reputable, or not so reputable, news outlets to social media
• A push notification from Apple News that I read only the first sentence of

And here’s the real kicker: none of this works without the person actually posting it. A headline buried on page six or low on a homepage does nothing if it never surfaces in someone’s feed. A perfect quote in a top-tier outlet fizzles if it isn’t clipped, captioned and shared by someone your audience already trusts. In 2025, the social media manager isn’t an afterthought, they’re the bridge between “coverage exists” and “someone actually sees it.” Treating social as the least important job is the fastest way to make sure your hard-won media hits die on the vine.

Pew Research found that more than half of U.S. adults now get at least some news from social media each week, and nearly 40% of Gen Z and Millennials say it’s their primary news source. If PR pros and their clients want to meet audiences where they are, we have to stop treating social platforms as “extras” and start treating them as part of the media ecosystem itself.

This realization hit me recently during a major awareness month campaign. Our team pitched every relevant outlet, offering bread-and-butter type of interviews with top experts, heart-warming patient stories and researchers who warn about funding cuts — but no coverage landed. At the same time, we led an influencer campaign with both micro and macro creators. Despite the lack of media hits, the campaign results were record-breaking for the client compared to previous years. With 28 content pieces, we achieved a 140% increase in website visits, a 347% increase in social engagements and gained almost 350 new followers compared to the same month-long campaign the year before. It was a reminder that visibility doesn’t always come from headlines. Sometimes, it comes from showing up authentically in the spaces where people are already paying attention.

The Prestige Trap

There’s nothing wrong with aiming high. National media hits build credibility. They impress boards and funders. They help shape how an organization is perceived in its field. However, when the goal is to drive action — such as a donation, an application or an RSVP — we need to be more honest about where people’s attention resides on a day-to-day basis.

Today’s audiences aren’t gathering around newspapers or radio like they once did. They’re scrolling. They’re sharing. They’re stumbling across headlines because a friend posted them, an influencer referenced them or an algorithm surfaced them between videos. People still read articles, and plenty of us go intentionally to trusted outlets to verify what we’ve just seen online. The point isn’t that prestige reporting has lost value, it’s that most people don’t start there. They arrive at it through something else.

A Sprout Social survey recently found that 41% of Gen Z have a social-first search mindset, and 37% of consumers in general use social media as their starting point for product research. In other words, prestige alone can only carry your message so far. Following audience behavior has to come first.

This is what full-service PR looks like at Momentum: the media hit is the starting point, not the finish line. We take it, promote it, repurpose it and push it through every channel where audiences actually pay attention. That’s how prestige gets results.

The Curiosity Gap

What would happen if we approached media planning less like a checklist and more like anthropology? If we got curious about where people are learning, connecting and deciding what to care about — and then built a strategy around that?

That would mean pitching to a local Instagram account or a creator who posts about community volunteering. It could mean creating an organization Discord or Reddit page to find your niche audiences or making a campaign visual that’s easy to reshare, not just a headline to screenshot. Maybe you need to show up in person and go back to the basics: Attend the local meetup, community event and conference with physical pamphlets and merch. Where are your people? Find them, meet them, never let them go. 

Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani’s historic win in New York City is a perfect example of that. He knew who he needed to reach and he found them. He found young voters at concerts and nightclubs, and online through famous influencers, with the exact following he wants for himself. 

It’s not just finding your audience, it’s what you say when you do, too. Research shows that audiences are significantly more likely to respond when they encounter the same message across multiple platforms. We can look again at Mamdani here. Across every platform he touches, including rallies, interviews, emails, flyers, Instagram Reels or debates, his “freeze the rent,” “working-class New Yorkers first,” “affordability” language is visible every time.

Reframing Reach

Expanding our definition of media doesn’t mean abandoning traditional journalism. It means broadening what we consider worthy of a pitch, a tag or a partnership.

Our job isn’t just to secure coverage; it’s to translate our clients’ work into something people actually notice, care about and act on. And sometimes, that’s less about the outlet’s prestige and more about its proximity to people’s everyday lives.

The best PR pros I know aren’t just storytellers — they’re observers. They’re curious about what makes people stop scrolling, what sparks connection and what content actually feels authentic.

In a world where the lines between “news” and “social” overlap more every day, the most effective campaigns aren’t built on status. They’re built on understanding.

So yes, keep chasing that dream headline. But when you have a message that matters, repeat it, reinforce it and plant it everywhere your audience actually lives – even in the small, scrappy, unexpected corners. That’s where people bump into things. And sometimes, a DM to the right neighborhood account will move your story further than the biggest outlet ever could.

Find out how Momentum can help move your strategy forward today: