The recent PR News Media Relations Forum featured a lot of great lessons for B2B communicators. Interestingly, a few “PR 101″ themes emerged as common keys to success with today’s media. Of course, the use of social media was also a major topic of discussion.

Here are my top three takeaways:

Do Your Homework. Today more than ever PR pros must do their research to truly understand the constantly changing media landscape. This is not rocket-science, but a little effort up front will generate real value for your business.

• You must really know which media will best engage your target audience. Today, coverage on an influential blog that reaches thousands can often deliver greater business impact than coverage in a major media outlet that reaches millions.

• From blogs and podcasts to e-newsletters and online video, all journalists — even those in the trade media — are responsible for more content than ever. So it is critical that you take time to really build strong relationships with them — it’s the only way you can hope to get through. And before you pitch, be sure to cover the basics: regularly read the print outlets you target; use any variety of online services to read recent articles by specific journalists; engage in the blogs in which you seek coverage; etc.

Face-to-Face Often Trumps Cyberspace. Whether it’s working with the media, customers, employees or any other stakeholder, using a face-to-face approach can often pay huge dividends. Speaker after speaker at the conference noted how a face-to-face approach helped them engage with their audience and build longer-lasting relationships. In today’s e-mail, blog and Twitter world, sitting across the table or giving a plant tour can actually be a refreshing and productive change of pace. As one speaker put it — face-to-face interaction is the original, and sometimes best, form of “social media.”

Tweet Street. Twitter — and how it can help us connect with one another and target audiences — seemed to be on the minds of presenters and attendees alike. At least a dozen conference attendees were “Tweeting” live from the conference using a pre-determined hashtag to follow and join the conversation. Apparently, there was such a concentration of Twitter activity from the conference that the hashtag (#mrf09) cracked the top trending lists to become one of the most popular Tweets of the day. My take: Twitter has promise for B2B, and is definitely worth experimentation; at the very least we should all follow tweets from our target journalists (see item #1). 

Stay tuned for more from Media Relations Forum 2009. If you were in DC with us — what was your take? Any other key themes for B2B communicators?