Changing Technology Environment Impacting Public Relations Media Essay

Public relations can be defined as "is a field concerned with maintaining public image for high-profile people, commercial businesses and organizations, non-profit associations or programs" (1). Although technology, especially social media sites including Facebook, Twitter and blogs have changed the way public relations is practiced, it has not changed the fundamentals of it. Even though technology has provided the industry with new PR tools and methods for its implementation, and therefore changed environment in which its used, the importance of public relations for companies and businesses is as vital as ever.

As customers have increased their use of the Internet, public relations has needed to evolve with their audience. Digital and networked communications " have made two-way symmetrical communications cost effective and relatively easy" (2). As communication technology has evolved over the last few years, society has come to expect ever more rapid communication as mainstream. This has held both advantages and disadvantages for the public relations field. There are great expectations for hasty communications between businesses and their publics. In the digital age, public relations rapid understanding of how your target markets are receiving, gathering and sharing information and then influencing them at key points. In order to achieve this, PR practitioners are required to learn and master several social media sites, all of which demand different skills and techniques.

Social media breaks down traditional divisions of stakeholders including employees, customers, shareholders etc. Because social media is public and universal its nature means all "audiences can read communications intended for any one audience" (). In a study, 72% of respondants believed social media complemented traditional news media. In addition 89% think blogs and social media influence coverage in traditional news media. As well as 84% believe blogs and social media have made communications more instantaneous because they enable organisations to respond and react quickly to issues.

Research revealed that only "25% of consumers are interested in being sold products or services via social media" ( ). The same study revealed " 13% of Australians have interacted with an organisation through a social networking site and then gone to make a purchase"(). Furthermore "more than a third of Australians have seen a positive consumer discussion about an organisation's products or services on a social networking site and have then either visited the organisation's website or store and made a purchase" (). 70% of those resulting purchases were online and 30% were offline.()

To be defined as social media, several criteria must be met. They must be atleast partially internet based, user generated information must be published- however since audiences often republish existing information, "user generation" is loosely defined. Community sharing must take place including but not limited to posts and comments and file sharing by some or all of members. Must make use of different types of multi media for example videos, forums, blogs etc. Message and information sharing is immediate- in terms of Twitter publishing is live.

Audiences are collapsed geographically- social media bridges distances.

A blog is a blend of the term "web log" ( ) and is "mostly interactive, allowing visitors to leave comments and even message each other via widgets on the blogs and it is this interactivity that distinguishes them from other static websites"( ). The number of blogs doubled from appromimately 30 million to 60 million between 2003 and 2006. Over 100,000 new blogs are created every, with approximately 1.3 million posts been added to existing blogs per day (). In America alone, 8% of internet users (approximately 12 million American adults) maintain a blog while 39% of internet users (about 57 million) American adults read blogs (). Blogs give the user an unique opportunity to share your ideas in a publication without the interference of others. This is not usually avaialble in other forms of media.

Twitter is a free "social networking and microblogging service, owned and operated by Twitter Inc., that enables its users to send and read other users' messages called tweets" ( ). Although Twitter limits users to 140 characters, it can provide up-to-the-minute updates to blogs, keyword tracking and can share links of their business. Twitter an help PR monitor, start and participate in conversations. 7 % of Americans use twitter (17 million people) with 51 % of active twitter users follow companies, brands or products ().

Facebook is a "popular free social networking website that allows registered users to create profiles, upload photos and video, send messages and keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues". () On average each Facebook user has "130 friends and shares 70 pieces of information every month"().

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The informal nature of blogs allows the author to encourage feedback from the audience. New ideas can also be introduced and the audience response can be tested informally. More personal relationships can be fostered with members of other strategic publics and gives you the opportunity establish yourself as an expert in your field. "According to a Backbone Media (2005) survey the top five reasons why employees have created web blogs are to publish content and ideas (52%), build communities (47%), promote thought leadership (44%), get information to customers (36%) and get feedback from customers (23%)".

However critics point out the PR Week/Burson-Marsteller CEO Survey (2005) that reports that out of the "59 percent of CEOs rate blogs as a good, very good, or excellent corporate communications tool for internal audiences" (), only 20 Fortune 500 companies were blogging in 2005, with only 10.8 % of these organisations were actively blogging by 2008( ). They also believe that while Blogs are changing the way PR is practised, their reach and influence has been greatly exeggerated, and are little more than a waste of time and effort for the average company ( ).

Twitter has several advantages and disadvantages compared to traditional media, however since 70 percent of journalists use social networks to assist with reporting, PR people may have little choice but to adopt to such technology. On the positive side, Twitter allows PR specialists to connect with journalists and bloggers. Journalists specific interests and preferences can be researched and this can lead to the preparation of "customized pitches" ( ) for interested journalists. Twitter also allows practitioners to instantly track what others are saying about their company by simply by doing a keywords search. Similarly the same approach can be used to research public opinion about competitors. In addition fans of your tweets have the ability to retweet your post so their followers so they can see what you have to say - this enables followers to promote your business for free. Because of the interactivity of technology, blog posts and facebook updates can be shared via Twitter. This does not even have to be done manually, instead tools that automatically post your blog link to Twitter. On the other hand, PR staff can find Twitter time consuming and distracting. Time spent on conventional marketing and promotion, the company can be sacrificed by getting involved in conversations non business in nature and following and responding to links other users are posting.

Facebook allows PR activity to be uniquely divided into four approaches, providing companies with a choice about the degree and manner they want to pursue with their audience. A passive approach gives the audience engaging material for instance pictures, and videos but the company itself does not interact with them. A less passive approach supports fan interaction

by encouraging them to post their own comments and pictures, but does not interact back with their material. A partially active approach allows discussion to proceed but the company will correct any errors made by followers. Active monitoring of friends and fans is undertaken, but engagement is minimal and usually only occurs when "clearly erroneous information is posted" (). A fully active and engaged approach involves designated employees connecting with fans and posting company material.

However critics point out that Facebook's biggest user base are students and claim that unless the company's target audience is students, there are more efficent and conventional ways of reaching their target market.

Much like traditional media, messages that are too promotional or seem to be marketing ploys will be ignored or get a bad reputation. Instead an honest and interesting personality should be displayed. It is recommended organizations spend 80-90 % of their time on Twitter helping others, sharing relevant and useful content and network. Whereas promotion should only take up 10-20%. Similarly using a logo as a profile picture instead of showing a human side to the company by displaying instead staff photos should be avoided. Logos should be used as a background image if promotion is sought. For larger companies, if a logo needs to be a profile picture, is to add a first name with each tweet to convey a personal touch to messages.

Like traditional media, social media relies on public awareness. If companies undervalue technology they may struggle for support and recognition. This can lead to job and budget cuts. Because of this PR cannot assume that one message on social media will reach everyone of their followers. Because of its fragmentation, individuals may not see information posted on a tweet or a Facebook status. Instead they must take a theoretic view that their audience are able to access business information, but may not necessarily view it. While this is similar to traditional media, because that style media is shrinking, an individual has a higher chance of seeing it in a given newspaper etc.

As the use of the Internet continues to expand, the "transition to interactive communications requires a change in thinking and creates new opportunities for building relationships between organizations and their public" ( ). However while the traditional marketplace has changed forever, causing a re-evaluation of geographic and economic boundaries in business, it still has its place for modern day PR activities. For example figures released by the Newspaper Association of America reports that the declining rate of newspapers has been more severe than once thought, with 2007" revenue plunging 9.4% to $42 billion compared to 2006, the biggest drop in revenue since 1950, the year they started tracking annual revenue" (). At the same time, internet ad revenue rose 18.8 % to $3.2 billion (), with online revenue only representing 7.5% of total newspaper ad revenues ().

Despite technology, public relations still has the same objectives. PR will always be invaluable source of information within crisis management. As in the past, practitioners need to be aware of and capable of reacting swiftly to crisises in a professinal manner. However the differences today are that businesses no longer have any reason not to take advantage of the multiple ways of handling crisises that may arise. Customer complaints are able to be addressed through more mediums than in the past including email and facebook messages therefore enabling the "remedy (of ) a situation immediately before a crisis begins" in some instances ( ). Similarly the value of a network hasn't changed either. Whether online or not, networks are indispensable. While connecting with the public has changed in its approach, the backbone of PR is still the same: to create and maintain successful connections with customers and clients.

Social media can help build or enhance a business's reputation, but on the other hand holds the potential to damage and even destroy a company in a matter of moments online. Most of the time company will have an online reputation whether they want it or not. 63% of people will research a product online before they make a purchase and therefore will be exposed to information about the company via its own sites or built up from satisfied and dissatisfied customers facts and opinions. Social media gives anyone with a computer and an internet connection the ability to publish "exponentially multiplying the power of one" ( ) and with that, "power is taken out of the hands of companies, and placed into the hands of consumers". Reputation management has now become a defining feature of PR practitioners online presence. PR practitioners must be aware of tools and actions that can help preserve a business reputation such as changing privacy settings on profiles, customizing who can see certain updates and deleting unwanted information about them that appears online.

Unlike traditional public relations mediums, social media allows relationships between organisation and their publics to be two-way. It allows anyone to have a voice, so the relationship can be more conversational rather than the "simple push of information" ( ). Public relations industry is no longer dependant on the media to communicate with their audiences. Traditional media channels like TV and newspapers can continually "bang people over the head with their messaging"( ) and which is often less effective and more expensive. When "traditional media ruled, people could only listen and observe" ( ). In a study, 93% of facebook users believe a company should have a at least one social media site. In addition they found that 85 % believed that a company needs to interact with customers, rather than just have social media presence.

While there are simalrites between social and traditional "word of mouth" media, new media has minimized traditional power differences between the organisations and the publics. Previously the public had little power but new media has empowered customers with the power to broadcast their thoughts and opinions immediately, via groups and blogs. Like traditional media, new media and word of mouth are conversational, consist of personal opinion,are open to interpretation, spread rapidly, and tend to be trusted when coming from a trusted source. In a study 67% of consumers said they would take action by credible word of mouth.

Changes in technology have also seen the increase in the publics involvement with company's information and message creation and distrubution. Unlike in the past, audiences can be more involved by both posting their own comments and questions on businesses social sites and distrubting company information and updates onto their own followers and friends instantly. However social media will not be successful if companies approach it as one way communication. Designiate employees must be involved with their publics by asking for feedback and asking and answering questions. Nor will it work if companies assume the amount of followers or fans is an accurate measure of a company's influence.

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Social media has both been an advantage and disadvantage for companies public relations. Fake PR can occur when a competitor or another person sets up a mock or pseudo company site and operates as if they were the real company. Several factors contribute to its rise including the relative ease "to create and distribute official-looking content via social media" (), the time consuming challenge to "remove fake PR off third-party sites". A fake BP Global account has over 180,000 followers on Twitter. Claiming to be BP's PR department, Tweets such as "Please do NOT take or clean any oil you find on the beach. That is the property of British Petroleum and we WILL sue you," reads one "tweet" from the account @BPGlobalPR. The fake account was created on May 19 2010 by an unknown user and has four times more than the real BP Twitter account.

Nestle also experienced the downside of social media on public relations when critics of organized a mass revolt against its use of palm oil by publicly disparaging its practices on the company's facebook page. Greenpeace slammed Nestle for using a product that "documented as a source of deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, and endangered species loss". Activists were encouraged to modify their profile photos to "anti-Nestle slogans that often incorporated one or more of the company's food logos". Nestle were forced to respond with "To repeat: we welcome your comments, but please don't post using an altered version of any of our logos as your profile pic--they will be deleted." The audience's responses ranged from "Hey PR moron. Thanks you are doing a far better job than we could ever achieve in destroying your brand," to "It's not OK for people to use altered versions of your logos, but it's OK for you to alter the face of Indonesian rainforests? Wow!" to a gentler "I like some Nestle products so I qualify as a 'fan.' I would like Nestle to make them even better by removing palm oil. I would like to enjoy my Kit-Kats without feeling responsible for rainforest destruction and orangutan deaths." Comments from a decent handful of Nestle supporters were drowned out. A PR representation of Nestle was forced to make a statement "This (deleting logos) was one in a series of mistakes for which I would like to apologize. And for being rude. We've stopped deleting posts, and I have stopped being rude."

On the other hand, Red bull energy drink has over 7,900,000 Facebook fans. Instead of a generic fanpage, the company provides entertaining material that encourages interaction and contectivity between the brand and fans. They also have a unique public relations angle by integrating a Twitter stream from sponsored athletes like skateboarder Ryan Sheckler directly into the facebook stream. A PR respresentative stated "associating (Red Bull) with popular athletes, and letting fans connect to those athletes on a separate social network gives Red Bull some instant appeal". ()

In conclusion, technology has enabled companies to reach "new consumers and build brand loyalty at a fraction of the price of a traditional TV or print ad campaign" through social media. Social media also presents time challenges. PR practitioners must how to use each medium and its techniques and build relationships with participants. When using more than one site, relationships need to be bulit with varying audiences on different media sites. While the mediums in which public relations is practised has changed forever, the underlying values, roles and importance for clients havent changed.