Public Relations and the Future: Ours for the Taking

"The best way to predict the future is to create it."'

— Peter F. Drucker (1909-2005) American writer and management consultant.

Perhaps no truer words have been spoken than Mr. Drucker's own. Peter Drucker made a significant impact on American business and his statement presents an interesting challenge to anyone who has a goal and the ambition to bring your goals into fruition. His challenge is to grab life by the reigns and take control. College has already presented numerous hurdles in my pursuit for academic excellence, and I know that entering the public relations workforce will share similarities, and then some.

Who...you mean us?

Regardless, it the task charged to each of us at the University of Oklahoma's Gaylord College of Journalism, as well as those already practicing PR, to stay on top of our profession. This includes, but is not limited to, providing the highest grade of work for those we represent, maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with the public, and all the while keeping with the latest trends. Ideally, trends represent what is popular and what is successful, and those we represent should expect no less from our work. Before his death in 2005, Peter Drucker, 95, helped define one of the leading creators and utilizers of current PR trends, the nonprofit company.

No money, no problems.

Drucker believed that nonprofit organizations were the leading innovation of the 20th century. A benefit of enrolling in Dr. Meta Castarphsen's public relations capstone course at OU, is getting the opportunity to work directly with a nonprofit organization over the course of six months and learning how to be creative and effective, WITHOUT ANY MONEY! Perhaps no money is a slight embellishment, however, sadly it is not far from the truth. At any rate, this challenge only inspires the aspiring public relations practitioner more, as we are taught the there are no problems only opportunities. Pressure and forced creativity have helped produce some of my best work, meanwhile I have learned from trends in PR to aid in my success.

Social Media: 2010's Biggest Misunderstanding.

Whether we are given two sticks and asked to make fire, handed lemons and asked to make lemonade, or provided with a minimal budget and told to prepare a fully functional PR campaign, it is the PR practitioners job to stay fresh and innovative with the use of our tactics. One of the greatest allies for the fiscally challenged public relations professional has been the advent of social media and the booming success it has had since its rise to the top. Other trends in PR, as set out by pr2020.com, include the use of guerilla, incoming, and content marketing, however, the most relevant, and popular trend seems to be the use of social media to reach target publics.

The biggest pitfall of using social media outlets, such as Facebook and Twitter, is the assumption that because young professionals have been using these Web sites for for five years or so, then they naturally can use these effectively. NOT TRUE! I consider myself an avid user of Facebook, however, this in no way makes me qualified nor adequately experienced enough to represent my organization on the internet. There are many mistakes that can be made without proper care, mistakes that could cost you your or worse, the credibility of the company being represented.

Now, now. I can hear all of you Web junkies out there cyber-berating me. But hear me now, while social media can be an extremely cheap and effective tool for every PR professional, it can also be the dagger to the heart if not practiced with thorough discretion.

Social Media!

Social Media.

One of the biggest trends affecting not just public relations, but all businesses is of course, the rise of social media, according to smallbiztrends.com. This rise in the use of social media is also related to another trend currently affecting public relations, the use of on line videos.

It is safe to say that the majority of public relations practitioners and students are aware of the benefits of social media. The use of social media enables a campaign to reach large numbers of a target audience, yet is interactive and therefore a bit more personal at the same time. A practitioner is able to measure the success of a message or campaign by keeping track of the number of responses a social media item receives, or the number of views a video receives.

However, the use of social media has become so prevalent in the public relations field that posting a video or photos isn’t enough anymore. As Bianca Gordon, one of the judges for our client presentations pointed out, people don’t want to just view a video or see a message anymore; they want incentive. They want to know that there is something in it for them.

As far as what this incentive could be, there is a vast amount of possibilities. Perhaps the credits at the end of an on line video could provide information to sign up for some kind of drawing that offers a prize. It could be as simple as guaranteeing that viewing a video, or joining a Facebook group, or following a Twitter account would make followers privy to special deals or discounts.

Businesses See Increasing Value in PR

By Clara Mitcham

According to PR 20/20, a PR/Marketing Blog, consumer-generated content along with other various forms of social media are not longer just a trend in public relations, they are a vital function of the profession. This means that public relations professionals must not only have excellent speaking and writing skills, but they must have a dynamic understanding of how to integrate various forms of marketing into a cohesive campaign. The good news is that businesses are becoming increasingly savvy towards the evolving role of public relations and the increasingly standardized public relations tools for measuring the success of multi-media campaigns.

According to Christine Perkett, founder PerkettPR, an increased ability to measure the effects of a campaign by seeing where consumers are driven on a website allows them to measure success quickly and efficiently. These new forms of electronic evaluation will show if a campaign is unsuccessful immediately, therefore, holding public relations professionals to the highest standard and making them directly accountable for their work.

The Public Relations Society of America said that social metrics technologies are helping PR professionals sort response through social media channels like Twitter and suggests that professions must have a thorough knowledge of blogging culture. According to PRSA, content analysis will continue to be very important role in measuring success. Measurement is becoming increasingly creative as businesses look for new ways to quantify the overall image of their organization, however, managing vast amounts of consumer-generated content continues to present unique challenges to public relations professionals.

In conclusion, the social media have helped legitimize public relations to many members of the business community and being able to continue to quantify the success of those PR tactics will be crucial to relationship between PR and the business field.

Articles Cited:

Perkett, Christine. Public Relations Trends for 2010.
http://bx.businessweek.com/digital-public-relations/public-relations-trends-for-2010/4213942808559917994-ce6ac9a1bf58f0dd9301ed29654242e5/

Roetzer, Paul. 10 Public Relations Trends that will change the Industry forever. PR 20/20 Blog. http://www.pr2020.com/page/10-public-relations-trends-that-will-change-the-industry-forever

Walton, Susan. What You Can expect in the Coming Year. http://www.prsa.org/Intelligence/Tactics/Articles/view/8482/1006/What_you_can_expect_in_the_coming_year

Social Media and the Future of PR

It's no secret that social media is creating quite the buzz in the public relations profession. Websites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube make it incredibly easy for PR professionals to connect with their target public with more ease than ever before. While having access to these social media outlets is important, it's even more important to understand how to use them effectively.

In the article Social Media New Releases and Social Media Newsrooms-Just Good PR by Sally Falkow she explains the upcoming trend of creating media releases specific to social media. She discusses that the press release has transformed from being targeted at newspapers to radio, to TV (where the VNR was born) so why not for social media? PR professionals have to understand they need to present their information in a format that will get them the best results.

Falkow goes on to explain that in the social media release it's important to include URL links to all social content, all news releases in a social media format, any multimedia assets, syndicate all news content in RSS feeds, and provide embedded codes with images and video so bloggers or journalists can easily use your content.

After researching public relations trends it was easy to see that social media is all that’s being talked about. I feel like it's important for PR professionals to embrace and use social media but I also feel like they shouldn't forget their roots. Networking and getting out into the community is still key for the future PR professional to remember. There are many wonderful things that can be done from behind a desk using social media but you should never forget the power of networking within your own community.

Photo Courtesy of :kellerwilliamskissimmee.com

Blog: Short for Web Log

Blog: Short for Web log

Courtney Knutson

The latest and greatest form of social media and one of the largest outlets used by all kinds of people are blogs. Not only are people using blogs to write about their personal experiences, but public relations professionals are using blogs to communicate with clients, stakeholders, other professionals, colleagues and future clients. As the newest trend, blogs are also most conveniently used to convey and expressing other fast growing, creative trends converging in public relations.
Dr. Mihaela Vorvoreanu, professor at Purdue University and creator of People Research Connections (PR Connections), a blog about research in public relations and other topics, explains, “Blogs move the profession to…higher professional standards and help prove the value of the profession to clients and society,” Vorvoreanu says. “Through blogs, public relations practitioners can [educate] each other. They can create and share knowledge and best practices.”
According to PRSSA.org, there are over four million blogs on the internet today, with a new one being created every seven seconds. Not only do blogs help with networking and trading of ideas, blogs also help public relations professionals research about other topics and information. Also, because blogs are more popular and more widely read, they can sometimes substitute for traditional public relations practices, such as media pitches and news releases.
While blogging is an up and coming trend with professionals, so is the convergence of entertainment and publicity. This idea incorporates entertainment with the publicity or promotion of a organization or product. In an article in PublicRelationsIdeas.com, an example of this is how the Army provides viewers of their Web site with downloads of realistic war games that are created to give the audience an idea of what combat would be like. This trend is found commonly successful with a younger audience.
Some other common trends in public relations include Twitter, Facebook, online media rooms, and RSS feeds. Because public relations is modern and always leading in communication, there will continue to be new trends and ideas brought out in a variety of different forms.

Sources:

http://www.prssa.org/forum/article.aspx?issueId=151&id=525

http://www.feareygroup.com/our_news_trends.html

http://www.publicrelationsideas.com/pr_trends_000653.html