Keeping Up with the Evolution

By Michael Mustradi

In the past decade, public relations has been evolving rapidly.  Social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, have played significant roles during this evolution.  These free sites give organizations the ability to directly communicate with their publics in real time, along with receiving valuable feedback.  PR practitioners can use social media to its advantage by staying ahead of the competition while being on a tight budget. 

Authenticity is a concept that makes social media as successful as it is.  A politician, for example, will receive many more followers on Twitter because of the authenticity of the tweets.  Publics enjoy the more personal communication and are more willing to spread the word and provide feedback.  In addition to authenticity, brand awareness and brand loyalty can be maximized through the use of social media.  Providing incentives for publics that are active on social media is an excellent way to keep the public wanting more.  Whether it is breaking news, coupons, or any other form of a giveaway, publics receiving these incentives will be more willing to share a positive message and spread the word.

Keywords, what’s trending, and common threads can all be utilized quite easily on social media sites.  Organizations can use these to attract potential customers, clients, etc.  A brand such as Nike can see what users on these sites are interested in sports and fitness and a follow/friend request can be sent.  This strategy is much more successful when wanting to reach out to a larger audience because the user will be much more willing to follow and learn about that specific organization.

Simple metrics such as the number of users in a network, the number of followers receiving information, and feedback from posted surveys or polls can give an idea of just how many publics you are communicating with.  More advanced technological tools such as Radian 6 can also be used to take a deeper look into social media.  Metrics in social media should not be overlooked, as analyzing them can be crucial to see just how successful a PR practitioner can be with social media.

Though there are many technological advances and breakthroughs in the past few years, social media, by far, takes the crown of being the one to single-handedly evolve PR and how companies communicate with their publics.  Not only is it free, it encourages two-way symmetrical communication with active and aware publics, it is an excellent way to utilize word of mouth, and it provides an authentic edge that no other technology can achieve.