The face of the PR industry is changing at a rapid pace, even without many of the people who are a part of the industry and should know better, realising it. The landscape that is evolving is increasingly dominated by digital media, and those that are unable to discern in which direction the wind is blowing will eventually fall by the wayside. Quick results are expected in an era where social media get the news out way faster than traditional media platforms. As a result traditional media outlets are metamorphosing into digital news platforms, putting out news content on their websites, which is shaped by the expectations of a social media savvy target audience.
There is no denying the fact that the younger lot joining the PR workforce has a more instinctive and organic relationship with technology and are able to understand its nuances and can leverage its power far more effectively than their seniors. It is for the latter to pick up a few tricks on how to do that and thereby learn to use technology in a way that enhances one's ability to outreach, profess and obtain effective consumer attention(not media attention), like never before.
In these changed circumstances the PR agency model
as we knew it will probably change dramatically from the way that it is structured right now. There is already a perceptible shift underway in the nature of PR agencies. More and more PR outfits are smaller and specialised outfits that are better able to service the quick turnaround expectations of their clients. It may not be the case today that PR firms that pay lip sympathy to tools like blogging, social networking profiles and online video, and so on, will fold up, but they will surely one day- as surely as the email enervated snail mail. The writing is on the wall, and PR professionals ignore it at their own peril.
As time marches by one will see a decline in influence of traditional journalists and opinion influencing analysts and the rise and rise of the power of the blog. This is not surprising in a scenario where three new blogs are being created every two seconds! Brands now have to receive inputs and evolve and not attempt to bring the consumers to speed as was the case in the past. The best way to find out about the reputation of a brand is not by referring to all the ads, newspaper and television coverage one has garnered, but the rank it obtains in an online search. It's time for the PR thinking heads to change tack or other specialists will take over.
There is no denying the fact that the younger lot joining the PR workforce has a more instinctive and organic relationship with technology and are able to understand its nuances and can leverage its power far more effectively than their seniors. It is for the latter to pick up a few tricks on how to do that and thereby learn to use technology in a way that enhances one's ability to outreach, profess and obtain effective consumer attention(not media attention), like never before.
In these changed circumstances the PR agency model
As time marches by one will see a decline in influence of traditional journalists and opinion influencing analysts and the rise and rise of the power of the blog. This is not surprising in a scenario where three new blogs are being created every two seconds! Brands now have to receive inputs and evolve and not attempt to bring the consumers to speed as was the case in the past. The best way to find out about the reputation of a brand is not by referring to all the ads, newspaper and television coverage one has garnered, but the rank it obtains in an online search. It's time for the PR thinking heads to change tack or other specialists will take over.
