The Growth of Public Relations: Telling Stories on New Platforms

Andy Polansky, chief executive of public relations firm Weber Shandwick, recently discussed the growth of public relations, largely impacted by the ubiquity of social media and the number of companies seeking help managing their online presence.

The comments come on the heels of Weber Shandwick increasing its 40 percent stake in Indian public relations firm Corporate Voice by buying out the remaining 60 percent. Polansky says the deal offers “tremendous opportunity.”

A New Public Relations Landscape

Reported by a recent Live Mint article, Polansky sees the current marketing world as “being driven in part by digital and social media.” When asked if this change in direction poses a challenge for public relations firms, he instead called it an opportunity, noting that especially when it comes to marketing, his firm is brought in sooner than ever before.

In part, this is an attempt by companies to navigate the new social media space and to tell a consistent brand story across multiple platforms.

The Shandwick CEO also mentionedhe growing divide between paper and digital journalism, which varies depending on the location. Indian markets, for example, have increasing newspaper readership, while other countries are moving away from hard copies of newspapers and magazines. As a result, there’s a need for public relations experts who are versed in not only print but also digital media, and who can adapt to changing social demands. As Polansky states in the Live Mint article, “The biggest challenge, being in the intellectual capital business, always is to find the best people and retain the best.”

Sociable Solutions

For public relations experts, the global market offers a wealth of opportunity. As a February 17, 2013, article from SFGate.com points out, social media has changed the way companies need to distribute their message or respond to a crisis. In the article, Adam Mendelsohn, former communications director for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger noted “It’s not about response after it happens. It’s about anticipating it before it happens.”

Users, not corporations, are in control of social sites like Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram, which in turn opens new avenues for public relations shops. Instead of creating canned emails after a company misstep or designing catchy print ads, firms need to respond second by second and identify the users whose tweets, posts or pictures will have the most influence on public perception. Tracking these trend-makers, in addition to crafting a consistent image across platforms, is what companies can’t do on their own — and why they’re turning to highly-tained professionals.

Although these changes in the social sphere are challenging for companies navigating waves of tweets and storms of Facebook posts, this digital and social growth of public relations offers real opportunity for new PR graduates and seasoned public relations specialists, alike.

[cf]skyword_tracking_tag[/cf]

Please Leave A Comment

comments

Related posts:

Digital Marketing Growth Increase Predicted for 2013 Marketing Software Demand Underscored by Marin Software, Inc. IPO Success Amazon Will Take Its Time Getting Public Accustomed to Drone Delivery Twitter Initial Public Offering Likely for 2013, Predicts PrivCo Adobe Survey: Marketers Need to Change but Don’t Know How