Is Public Relations controlling their own message?

After a search on Twitter this is what I could find about PR…. Tell me what you think this says about how PR is managing their own message through social media.

http://twitter.com/#search?q=public%20relations

http://twitter.com/#search?q=pubic%20relations

What about Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pr

Social Media… Now that Changes Everything!!??

Over the last few years the world in which we live has changed drastically. I can now send words to a friend through my cell phone, I can see and talk to someone through my computer screen, I can share my every last thought on Twitter and I can find even some of the most embarrassing pictures on Facebook. Technology has changed and the major change has been social media.

 In my opinion, this change has created an opportunity for Public Relations the field as well as its practitioners. Take a look at the video below of how social media has changed public relations.

In my opinion, this is the opportunity that PR has been waiting for. Social media has taken away the power of the media from just news channels and their anchors and has expanded that power to the general public. Anyone and everyone can voice their opinion on the web. Its reach is unbelievably large. My point is that conversations are happening on the web whether we take notice or not. Public relations has the ability to take advantage of this change and to help the public understand their role by explaining how they can help companies manage their image in the new age of the web. What do you think? What would be some of the best means for PR practitioners to demonstrate their role in managing reputation in light of the internet and social media?

Fixing the Image… Is it Worth it?

Following the writing of my last post, I thought a lot about public relations and its role in society. I mean if we are going to fix our reputation, we need to understand our publics and what they believe truly is public relations and its role. I guess I started to question whether the world is ready for PR? I mean does society really understand the importance of public relations or is this what the public thinks?

I guess I believe that public relations is a very polarized profession. Some companies truly believe that it would be detrimental to their organisation to not have a communications department or professional. Others believe that it is an easy cutback to save money with no big loss to the company. This is where I would argue that it is time for PR to rethink their own PR strategies. I mean as PR professionals if we can’t give ourselves a good image, than why would anyone trust us with theirs?

 With no prior knowledge of the field of PR, I too wouldn’t trust us. So that is when I decided to sit down and think about why I think that PR is important in today’s world. Here is what I came up with:

1. Strategic way to communicate
2. Identify and target key publics
3. Get your messages in the media
4. The ability to control and advert crises
5. Two-way symmetrical communications (demonstrates transparency)

So what else do you guys think?

 Moving beyond why PR is important, I began to think about how PR practitioners in the past have attempted to combat this negative image. To be truthful… not much has been done. Some PR practitioners have attempted a rebranding of the field by classifying themselves as “Communicators” and trying to avoid/drop the label of PR. GIVE THE PUBLIC SOME CREDIT!!!! I mean “Communicator”, “PR Practitioner”. A rose by any other name is just a rose. The sad but true reality is… it doesn’t pay to spend your time fixing the image of PR when there are clients out there willing to pay you to fix their image. What do you reckon? Is it worth it?

The Internal Dynamics of PR

Being that I plan on entering the field following graduation, I would like to believe that PR has the ability to fix its reputation. I do however think that it is going to take a lot of effort to do so. So how can it be done….?

              It is funny that Bryan you posted that PR practitioners can’t agree on what exactly PR is because that is exactly what I was creating my next post about. I agree that before PR practitioners are going to be able to change the public’s perception of PR, PR practitioners need to better understand their field. It needs to start from the inside out. Please visit http://wps.prenhall.com/bp_seitel_pr_9/0%2C8183%2C982268-%2C00.html and take this online quiz about what is public relations.

 According to Cutlip, Center and Broom (1999), the field has witnessed numerous changes in recent years: 

• “More than 90% of practitioners are college graduates, including almost 30%with some postgraduate studies without a graduate degree completed, 28% with master`s degrees, and 2% with doctoral degrees”(Cutlip et. Al, 1999).
• “Historically, the majority of practitioners , majored in journalism” (Cutlip et. Al, 1999).
• “But that has changed in the last two decade. 40% in 2008, reported public relations as their college major” (Cutlip et. Al, 1999).
• “Increasingly, employers look for specialized public relations degrees and advanced degrees emphasizing research and social science” (Cutlip et. Al, 1999).
• “PRSA, IABC, The Arthur Page Society: These professional development programs- now seen as essential for maintaining cutting-edge skills and knowledge- attract increasing numbers of working practitioners” (Cutlip et. Al, 1999).
• “Employers still value media experience, even if only with the college newspaper or radio station” (Cutlip et. Al, 1999)
• “ Many employers also look for education or experience in specialized field in addition to public relations. The most difficult positions to fill are those that require specialized preparation and backgrounds such as computer technology, corporate finance, health care, and agriculture” (Cutlip et. Al, 1999).

             With the evolution of the field, do you think that new practitioners will have a different understanding of what the field is?  I really am not sure. I do think that as people start to become more and more educated in the field prior to commencing employment, the more likely they are to understand the field.

        Furthermore, I believe that groups such as the PRSA and the IABC (I am from Canada), are doing their part to attempt to make the field more reputable. Although it is not a requirement of practicing in the field to become a member and to follow their code of ethics, it is highly regarded. I believe that the growing demand for education in the field prior to practicing will reinforce the importance of joining groups like the PRSA and therefore the importance of following a code of ethics. Once again, I agree with Bryan, we cannot begin to build up our reputation externally until internally we understand the field.

Reference:

Cutlip, S. M., Center, A. H., & Broom, G. M. (1999). Effective Public Relations (8^th ed.). Prentice Hall.

PR… Per Rate?

Check out this video clip. The first guy makes me laugh and proves that people just don’t understand public relations. It is time that PR works on its own PR.

First Impressions of the Impression Maker

When asked what is the public’s perception of public relations practitioners the overwhelming response is negative in nature. Once I respond to the question “what are you studying at school?” with “public relations”, most people say “oh so you are becoming a spin doctor”, or “is that an honest career choice?” Since those questions I have often wondered why public relations practitioners are unable to handle their own PR.

Professionals in the public relations field have attempted to curb the negative image of the field. With the belief that it is the ethics of the field that is holding it back, groups like the Public Relations Society of America have established code of ethics that they enforce. The problem lies in the fact that not all practitioners are required to join and therefore cannot be held to a specific code of ethics. What does this mean for the field? Should public relations practitioners be forced to join an ethics body? Would that be enough to counter the negative image of the field?

I guess I question whether or not it is possible to fix the bad PR of PR. I mean as public relations practitioner we know that some relationships are unfixable. Is it too late for PR? I would like to believe that the answer is no. I believe that public relations has built and maintained half of their relationships. Many companies rely on public relations to manage their public image. Where public relations has failed lies in their relationships with the public. For the most part, public relations practitioners are not trusted any more than advertising or marketing professionals. They are seen to have an agenda that does not prioritize the needs of the public.  So how do we salvage this relationship?

I think that it is now the time for public relations to move in to crisis management for themselves. What do you think? For my next few blog posts I will analyze some of the possibilities that could be used to deal with the PR of PR.

What do you think of when I say….

In my last couple of posts I have been discussing the fact that people have this unique ability to believe  and buy-in to the strangest things. I mean seriously believing that Oil of Olay will remove those pesky wrinkles and that the Ab Roller will give you rock hard abs with little to no effort, is ridiculous. So why is it that we believe what we believe? Just like we formulate perceptions about people, we formulate them about companies as well.

 

Try this….

When I say Nike what do you think about?

When I say Lululemon what do you think about?

When I say Matel what do you think about?

When I say Maple Leaf Foods what do you think about?

When I say Qantas what do you think about?

The truth of the matter is, companies, whether we like it or not are ingrained in our minds. Although we do not have direct relationships with the people who run them we do have perceptions of them as a whole. These perceptions have been formulated based on our interaction and experience with their product, store, etc., their advertising campaigns, their media attention, their reactions to crises and the experiences that our friends and family have had with these brands.

While thinking about some of the brands that have engrained themselves in my brain, I tried to determine what it was about them that was so appealing to me. I came to the conclusion that my interactions with the company significantly impacted the way in which I viewed these companies. For instance a couple years ago I had the worst experience that I have ever had with a company. It was for a makeup company ( which I will leave nameless), and I went to go and purchase some of their products. I asked the sales person a question about a promotion that they had going on. The sales person responded very rudely to my question and then proceeded to tell me that perhaps I was too ugly to wear this particular product. I will leave the story at that… however to this day neither my friends or family have ever purchased this brand of products again.

Word of mouth is a very powerful tool. As communicators I sometimes questions how we can leave our publics with positive perceptions of our organisation. I also wonder is it possible to repair damaged perceptions?  For my next post I will  analyze this concept and see how we can repair brand image.