The future of public relations is turning increasingly to social media. As the world of media keeps evolving, we will see an increasing reliance on social media. However, perhaps the use of social media is not as important as the social capital it can bring. Social capital is the value that comes from being known and trusted within a social network. Much like monetary capital, it can reap real benefits for a business or organization. Social capital is especially important for PR practitioners since our share of monetary capital is often notoriously low. The real beauty in social media then, according to tech expert Tara Hunt, is its capacity to build social capital for an organization. This also means, however, that one cannot just throw some information at a Facebook page or Tweet whatever randomly comes to mind. The old PR principles of researching, knowing your audience and what they want, answering the “What’s in it for me?” question, and common sense still apply. We can’t simply throw these ideas out the window but must be prepared for the future, which apparently, we are not. According to social media blogger Jason Falls, many colleges around the country are not teaching students to deal with social media. I feel very lucky to be here at Gaylord College, where most faculty understand the need for a more digital education and the facility and mindset of the college reflect that. In the end, relationships and networks are still going to be our most valuable asset, and we need to learn how to build that social capital in a digital, modern way.
by Laura Bennett
image courtesy of Amy Abrahams at amyabrahams.com
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