If you are a PR practitioner,or any member of society who does not happen to reside under a rock,you know about social media.The older generation can rant and rave about the youth with their eyes glued on gizmos and make uncalled for dictum to,”read a book” but social media is here to stay.Social media and PR especially.The PR industry embraced social media and as a result it has done some evolving:
1.STORY LIFE SPANS ARE SHORTER:
Social media is fast but ephemeral.It is estimated that 6000 tweets are shared per second on twitter.Many people on social media are looking for sensationalized exciting stories,and then they are bored.
This being the case,even though the news story won’t stay long on the headlines,social media is an effective tool to raise awareness and also break news thanks to its popularity.
2.ORGANIZATIONS ARE PRONE TO CRISIS.
In a world where anybody can voice their opinion unprovoked,you are likely to run into some quality control issues.In many cases,a media personality can make the mistake of making an ignorant or offensive statement on social media which in turn could spiral into a crisis.
Therefore,PR Practitioners should be keen in managing brands and controlling the information that is being put out there.Failure to these can lead to crisis that could have been averted,or missed opportunities like in the case of the Red Lobster and Beyonce.
In the song Formation, Beyonce mentions Red Lobster,and the internet went wild fir this.Twitter blew up,as people came up copious amount of memes.Several people waited on Red Lobster’s response,only for them to submit a sub-optimal tweet.Way to screw up that one Red Lobster.
3.INCREASE ACCESS TO JOURNALISTS
By following journalists on social media,one can understand them better,and be able to curate the approach that will suit them.One can understand what their opinions are about certain topics and ideologies from checking out their social media.
That said,one should not pester them by directly messaging your pitches to reporters,but should take a more professional approach like sending them emails.
4.PR PRO BECOMES CUSTOMER SERVICE.
People on social media usually demand immediate responses to their requests and questions,and thus many practitioners find themselves acting in the customer service role.
To get a good social media presence,it is important that all needs of the consumer are met,even though it means late night conversations on twitter.
5.INFLUENCERS
Nowadays,influencers are considered one of the best ways to attract new customers to a product.In many cases,people levitate towards a certain product simply because their favorite influencer recommended it.
PR can take advantage of this,because using influencers has proven to be quite effective.PR in Kenya has also embraced PR with celebrities such as Caroline Mutoko and Patricia Kihoro using this to their advantage.
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