Taking PR into the Future
Why Consultants Need to Keep Up to Date with Evolving Technologies
Over the past two decades, the Internet and emerging technologies have changed public relations beyond all recognition. Find out what PR consultants can do to keep up.
Public relations has come a long way since the days when a consultant would have to flick through pages and pages of names in a directory of door-stop proportions to find the journalist they wanted to make contact with. Gone are the days of typing up each press release with a typewriter and desperately trying to find storage space for the inevitable piles of documents (back in the day, the PR consultant didn't have the luxury of a mega-gigabyte computer on which to save client info, media releases, research, etc.) No wonder four-hour liquid PR lunches were so popular in those days. The poor souls must have been exhausted.....
How the Web Is Making PR Easier
The Internet has played a major part in lessening the load for PR practitioners. They can now send a media release out to hundreds of outlets, all over the world, with the simple push of a button. They can painlessly find the name of a journalist by going to a website like www.mediainfo.com. Important research can be done without even taking a step away from the desk.
However, as well as making day-to-day tasks like these quicker and simpler, it must also be remembered that the Internet can provide a fantastic opportunity for new and exciting means of communicating with many various audiences.
Generation C Is the Future
The largest group of Internet users is Generation C or the MySpace Generation, which includes all those individuals born in the mid to late 1990s. Generation C, are future opinion leaders and decision makers, and spend a substantial chunk of their time surfing the World Wide Web. They are technology savvy. They have grown up with the Internet and do everything from socialising and shopping to studying and sorting out their finances, all within the confines of their own online universe.
PR practitioners need to ensure that they are up-to-date and knowledgeable about the online world that this group spends so much time in. If practitioners neglect this then they will be missing out on a golden opportunity to connect with an audience that is important now but will be even more so in the years to come, as they graduate and grow up.
PR consultants must also remember that it is not purely Generation C that relies so heavily on the World Wide Web. Individuals of all ages, genders and backgrounds are discovering how useful the Internet can be for research and keeping up to date with the rest of the world, among other things.
Getting in Touch with Online Audiences
So how can these online audiences be reached? Blogs, forums, websites, emails and online newsletters are all very effective ways of getting in touch with the specific groups that you want to speak to. For example, if you want to find out what BMW drivers think of the latest BMW sports car you can go to the thriving BMW forum at www.bimmerforums.com and ask them. If you want to excite people about a new video game you can set up an enticing, stimulating and interactive new website showcasing the product. If you want to keep your audiences informed about the great things your company is doing, you can keep an online blog. The possibilities are endless yet still some members of the PR profession appear reluctant to use the Internet to its full potential.
PR Juniors Need to Step Up
Maybe some of the older generation refuse to grasp online communications due to a fear of the unknown. Perhaps they are scared to try something they are unsure about but also too proud to accept that they do not fully understand this ever-changing technology and need some assistance and advice. This is where a younger or more tech-savvy member of staff can step in.
Younger members of the PR team should not be afraid of offering up some ideas to the Big Bosses on how the Internet can be better utilised to reach certain audiences and to better distribute key messages. If senior staff were not born into the Internet era then they will probably be grateful. Those public relations consultants who have grown up with the World Wide Web should use their skills and insights to add a different and refreshing dimension to public relations and lead it forward into this technology satiated young century.
