Editor’s note: The following is a guest post from Roger Dooley, a writer, speaker and researcher in marketing, and in particular the use of neuroscience and behavioral research.
I tend to be more of a consumer of public relations than a creator. I’ve done my share of press releases and media interviews, but I’m bombarded with many times that quantity of public relations messages — news releases, book review requests, story suggestions and so on. Sadly, most of what I see is ineffective.
Public relations executives fought for years to earn their place in the C-suite. That fight for credibility and respect has taken on a new dimension, as advertising and marketing — two disciplines long grounded in measurement — are converging with public relations through the “integrated” approach to communications that is increasingly common. Senior management speaks the language of metrics, and public relations professionals will need to be quantitative and measurement-savvy to remain vital for their organizations.
Continue reading " Measurement Standards at the Global Business Level "
Earlier this year, I wrote a blog post countering the claims of Robert Scoble, Michael Arrington, Jason Calacanis and others who posited that social media’s rise would precipitate public relations’ fall. A new study now confirms what I suspected all along: Public relations isn’t declining at the hands of social media; it’s gaining, as social media provides opportunities to build relationships in new ways, and as companies seek guidance on effective and credible ways to leverage the new tools.
The 2009 Digital Readiness Report, a study conducted by iPressroom with support from PRSA, found that public relations professionals are firmly in the lead when it comes to managing an organization’s use of social media communications channels.
Continue reading " Public Relations Is Leading Social Media Engagement "
When we began our “Pulse of the Profession” project in early 2009 — PRSA Board members interviewing public relations practitioners about the impact of the recession on their careers and their thoughts on the state of our industry — we were sobered by the candid responses. Many of our colleagues had been hit hard, losing clients, suffering reduced budgets and, in some cases, struggling just to stay in business.
As one of the team leaders for this project, I recently revisited a few of the practitioners I had spoken with in January. While hoping for good news, I was careful to insist on realistic answers: We want honest replies to inform our survey findings, while recognizing that our purpose is to gather anecdotes rather than perform a scientific analysis.
Talk about time flying. It’s been about a year and a half since the first of a handful of pundits began sounding the current death knell for the public relations industry. The suspected cause of death? Social media.
Like previous reports of our industry’s demise, this one has been greatly exaggerated. Public relations isn’t declining at the hands of social media; it’s gaining, as social media provides opportunities to build relationships in new ways, and as companies seek guidance on effective and credible ways to leverage the new tools.
