It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that public relations professionals juggle many different responsibilities and wear a number of different hats every day. They must execute several strategic moves on behalf of their client, the agency they work for or their stakeholders. PR pros play multiple roles and have become experts in the area of rapid transition. These do-it-all professionals are definitely a force to be reckoned with. Think twice before accusing a PR person of not being able to handle a task at hand. Truth is they’ve probably dabbled in whatever it is you’re throwing at them and have discovered a more efficient way to accomplish the task.

In this week’s PRSA “Friday Five” post — an analysis of the week’s biggest public relations and business news and commentary — we look at how public relations is evolving in the face of technology, social media and other traditional roles once thought to be out of PR’s realm.

Continue reading " Friday Five: PR Pros Happily Put on Extra Hats "

Having the expertise to manage your brand’s social media presence takes so much more than simply using Twitter and Facebook on a personal level. Community managers have their hands full researching social media tools to help them maximize their brand’s social presence while not spreading their brand too thin trying to create a presence on every platform that exists. While some brands have successfully made a business case for social media in their company, other brands are learning to manage their organization’s expectations in regard to the return on social media stunts initially meant to garner a reaction instead of a specific outcome.

In this week’s PRSA “Friday Five” post — an analysis of the week’s biggest public relations and business news and commentary — we explore the skills, various tools and resources needed to fulfill the very well-rounded role of community manager. We also look at a few brands successfully tackling their social media strategy and those social PR stunts that sometimes fall on deaf ears.

Continue reading " Friday Five: The Intricacies of Social Media Management "

Connecting with the right audience can be a daunting task but for a business to succeed and remain relevant in today’s social age, public relations professionals must find a way to forge a relationship with their target audience and maintain that connection. Corporations and organizations should focus on understanding what their target audience wants, thinks and feels. Growing your business and exceeding your bottom line goals can depend on how well you connect with your audience. Gaining crucial insights to their needs and demands and staying abreast of any changes to these variables is what helps businesses remain ahead in a changing market.

In this week’s PRSA “Friday Five” post — an analysis of the week’s biggest public relations and business news and commentary — we explore various ways for companies and organizations to sustain their business practice and maintain fresh, relevant content all by developing a strong connection to their audience and keeping a pulse on changing wants and demands. We will also take a deeper look at two brands, one that has successfully made that connection with their audience through their content strategy and one that clearly missed the mark in trying to connect with their target audience.

Continue reading " Friday Five: Listen to Your Audience for Crucial Insights "

Public relations is an ever-evolving profession. Technology and social media advances continue to move professionals further into the future with the access to new apps, platforms and other tools that accelerate the way PR pros do their job. Staying up-to-speed on these advances is one way PR pros can remain relevant.

In this week’s PRSA “Friday Five” post — an analysis of the week’s biggest public relations and business news and commentary — we look at how far public relations has come over the last decade and put the spotlight on a number of new social media advances, platforms and measurement tools that continue to launch the profession forward.

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Facebook rolled out their redesign this week, packed with new user friendly features. According to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, “what [Facebook is] trying to do is give everyone in the world the best personalized newspaper.” Numerous media outlets have reported on the changes, including the new features designed to offer users more control of their News Feed and how these changes will affect brand pages. It seems also that with these new changes, users may be able to get around the issues they experienced when Facebook developed their new algorithm. While Facebook openly discusses the added bonuses and upgraded features, there has been little said about an increase in revenue for the company (which we know is inevitable.)

In this week’s PRSA “Friday Five” post — an analysis of the week’s biggest public relations and business news and commentary — we explore Facebook’s redesign and whether or not these new features will make users’ Facebook experience easier or just complicate things further.

Continue reading " Friday Five: Changes to Facebook May Alter the Way You Do Business "