A lot has changed in the past few years, and that’s putting it lightly. Times have changed drastically over the past 15 – 20 years in particular with the rise of mass media and social media. People have never been more informed and connected to each other. Many individuals actively use their social media accounts daily, and to this extent, businesses and corporations alike use social media to connect with their target audience and the public in general. The use of mass media, such as television and radio, are also used by large corporations to spread awareness of themselves and connect with their publics. Many job roles have evolved alongside the evolution of media, and public relations practitioners are no exception.
With Public Relations traditionally being viewed as a crisis management department by a large majority of the public, or spear heading campaigns to spread awareness, but the evolution of social media as a form of communication allowed the profession to evolve. Thanks to social media, news is circulated all the time, 24/7 throughout the world. Companies track records, reputation have become public knowledge with online a few clicks. This allowed Public Relation firms to cement their place in any company, as with information at everyone’s fingertips, it became so vital to build positive, long lasting relationships with the publics.
Public Relations will continue to transform – a career in PR now involves handling communications in the public spotlight because of the increasing use of social media. Social media requires you to shift your mindset to combine communications and collaborative technology. PR and communication practitioners are in an excellent position to strategically guide an organization’s communications, including social media.
With the world’s information at everyone’s fingertips, the general public is far more informed on decisions they make, and are far more influential. Thanks to social media, everyone with a phone and a social media platform is a journalist or reporter. Any outbreak that happens, or anything “newsworthy” happens, the public’s first response is to take out their phone and start recording. Many major news stories have broken due to this, such as the death of George Floyd which was recorded by Darnella Frazier. It sparked change in her local community, leading to the firing of the four officers involved, a ban on police chokeholds and a federal investigation. It also became the catalyst for a global racial justice movement. While the “classic mass media” such as tv and newspapers are still prominent, the majority of news is first communicated to the public via social media. People desperately clung to Twitter to await the updates and the results of the 2020 Presidential Election. Social media is where people get their information first, so it’s important that an organization controls what is seen on social media.
Any company or organization needs a PR practitioner to deal with Digital Media. Now more than ever, it is so easy for the general public to gain information on the organization, and not all information is good. People will make it known when they dislike something and will speak out strongly over social media. Organizations not being ethical, such as testing on animals, or poor working conditions will come under major fire online. Companies need to watch their reputation, especially online and respond and react accordingly. The best person within a company to do this is the PR practitioner, as they know best how to deal with the publics and how best to advise the company to alter it’s values and ethics to gain customer approval. With so many people and businesses on social media, they need Public Relations to help make sure they are being seen in a swarm of news and information, and seen for the right reasons.