A Whole New World

The public relations profession as we know it is changing. Social media has introduced a new dimension to communication between an organization and the public. Whether you consider them an audience, the consumers or the mass public, everyone is now able to communicate with and about your organization. Key to this new world is the idea of dialogue. As Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge state in their book, “Putting the Public Back in Public Relations”, we are no longer talking at the people, we are talking with them and building a relationship. This is no longer a one way monologue in which we put out a message and send it soaring into the faces of our key audiences. Facebook, Twitter, blogging and many other social media platforms have put the ball in the public’s hands. They now have the power (and will use it) to make the first move, whether you are aware of it or not.

So how, as a public relations professional, do you stay on top of this? As your career progresses you always want to maintain communication with your audiences. This is something that not only a new PR professional must learn how to do but also someone who has been in the industry for years must constantly update their knowledge. So here’s my proposal: start now. If you haven’t already (and who hasn’t?) create Facebook, Twitter, blogging accounts, anything you can find on a social media platform. Don’t associate them with any job you may have, this is only used for you to become familiar with the scene. On these platforms, there are three things you need to do:

1. Observe
2. Respond
3. Join

Observe - Watch and learn how people talk to each other. Watch how people communicate with and about businesses around their area and large corporations. Watch how people form their opinions by the things they post and share. Observe the atmosphere.

Respond – Don’t be afraid to comment on posts and shared articles. State your opinion, start a conversation. ASK QUESTIONS!

Join – Join groups and “like” companies and organizations. Follow their posts and learn from them. Follow industry guru’s on Twitter, they’re constantly posting great things to read that will keep you current in PR. Read what they read!

There are many social media platforms other than the most common listed above. I encourage you to play around in as many as you can. The more you become familiar with, the more knowledgeable and up to date you will be. When you begin your PR career (or if you already have) don’t stop using your personal accounts. Using your own private social media accounts can allow you to see a perspective “outside the box” of your professional or organization accounts. Stay current on the industry with any kind of continuing education you can find and I can almost guarantee most will be about the web or social media. Finally, my number one rule to stay up to date and on top of the ball in a publically controlled social world…NEVER STOP READING! As much as you can, check out as many tweets, blog posts, newsletters and magazines as possible. There is always something new going on that you need to know about to stay at the top of your game.