It seems wherever you go online, there is a new term that is related somewhat to new media or even PR. Whether it is “real-time marketing” to “digital media strategy” to reaching the “YOLO” audiences.You even hear some buzz terms like 360 degree campaign, Immersive Experience and even growth hacking. The list goes on and on – and keeps getting longer and longer! 🙂
However, there are times where you have to look at some of these terms and think – is this relevant and should we take note of this? I thought that this was the case when I came across a post this morning related to PR and social media. There was a post from the Idea brand that discussed how the new emerging field that combines social media and public relations is called “social relations.”
This post got me thinking – hile I think this is a good idea – there are many components that need to be addressed here and even added to this new conceptualization. With public relations, we have to consider social media definitely as a specialization to consider as well as apply our already set strategies and message techniques to.
To provide some additional references and resources to this perspective, I recommend reading this post on some of the essential skills PR professionals need to have today from Edelman Digital (great points here). In addition, there are several things I would also consider adding here to the list to the emerging field of social media relations:
- Understanding and application of research, particularly in analytics: This continues to be a huge gap within PR in the area of social media. We need to have our students and professionals get the experience of not only using tools to collect data, but be able to apply what the data means and translate these numbers into facts and insights to help guide us in a campaign or evaluate whether or not we were successful.
- Skilled in visual and strategic storytelling: We have to consider how to best tell our stories both from a strategic point of view as well as a visual point of view as well. Traditional PR practices have always embraced storytelling on the behalf of clients and others – but it is clear that social media also does. However, it comes down to picking the right time/platform/message/and audience to share these stories with.
- Being able to formulate relationships offline and online: You have to be connected in both places, but sometimes one relationship leads to the other. Establishing a strong web presence can increase your influence and place in specific communities, which can translate to opportunities offline. We are constantly connected online, so we have to be aware of this as well.
- Learning from newspapers – becoming publishers and content creators & curators: With social media, public relations professionals can become their own publishers with their own websites, blogs, social media profiles, etc. This is a trend young professionals (especially students) need to be aware of. Definitely check out this great post on creative newsrooms and brand storytelling from Edelman Digital – good insights!
In summary, while I think the idea of social relations is a good idea, there are some missing parts to this new concept that needs to be addressed. I think understanding that social media is a specialization within PR is key – and both areas will continue to evolve together.
With this being stated, this means that the role of a PR professional, professor, and student also has to evolve as well. We may see the term “social relations” come up again, but it needs to be operationalized just a bit more from my point of view.
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
Karen
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