Gini Dietrich is one of the smartest PR strategists out there, and she nails it as always with this article singing the praises of trade publications for building long-term earned media success.

Gini writes that you don’t just start by getting an A-1 story in The New York Times. Trade publications build credibility and get the attention of beat reporters at the top-tier publications who follow the trades to keep abreast of the industry they cover. She correctly notes that landing that coveted article in the NYT or Forbes or TechCrunch might not land as many clients as a good feature in your industry’s most popular trade publication.

And I think that point gets to the crux of the matter. Trade publications are often as important as, if not more important than, general interest media — even prestige media — at helping your organization meet its strategic goals. Future employees and clients read the trades. The people who give out industry awards read the trades. Acquisition partners read the trades. Remember, earned media is a means to an end, not an end in itself.

I formerly worked in higher education, and publications such as The Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed helped my institutions to recruit new faculty and administrators, and were also important components in our strategy to improve our U.S. News and World Report rankings. How so? One of the rankings criterion is peer assessment: How highly are you rated by other universities in your category? You can bet the administrators who complete that assessment (the president/chancellor, provost, and chief enrollment officer of each institution) read those publications on a regular basis. In fact, the rankings have made USNWR a de-facto trade publication for higher ed, and as with all trades, you ignore it at your peril.