The public relations industry naturally adapts to technological advancements. The rapid evolution of PR strategy over the past 20 years is partly attributable to the pervasiveness of social media and the networked culture. Here are four ways that technology is altering public relations.
Big Data Invasion
Large, varied volumes of data that can only be efficiently gathered and processed digitally are referred to as “big data.” Large datasets are compiled over extended periods of time and may contain information on past purchases, internet usage, and market swings. Big data has shown to be incredibly valuable in the field of public relations. Big data research enables PR professionals to understand long-term market trends so they may accurately predict future changes. Better PR strategy planning can result from these precise predictions.
Being noticed
Being visible in the first place has always been a key component of public relations strategy. In the past, this involved using conventional marketing and media relations strategies. But the paradigm has changed. Online brand awareness grows in massive quantities. Large volumes of traffic are directed to websites by websites like Google, thus ranking well on search engines is essential. Search Engine Optimization refers to a set of techniques used to raise a website’s page ranking. Specialist businesses like The Publicity Dude assist PR and marketing professionals in providing clients with the best possible internet performance. They achieve this through structuring websites for quick loading, researching and applying keyword strategies, and mobile-optimizing client websites. These elements all have an impact on search engine ranking.
Emergence of influencers
Today, influencers are crucial spokespersons for businesses trying to boost their PR or sell their products and services. As social media has grown in popularity, influencers have emerged. These people are self-taught internet personalities who frequently have a tight connection with their audience. They are able to connect with audiences that are outside the scope of conventional PR techniques because of their personal relationship. It has been demonstrated to be quite profitable to sponsor influencers or make them brand ambassadors, which may help to explain why the influencer marketing and PR sector is so large.
Crisis management difficulties
Public relations experts are all aware of how crucial it is to act on a problem before it turns into a catastrophe. Public relations catastrophes have the potential to drastically harm a company’s reputation and reverse any image-building efforts made by their PR team. The worst PR mishaps are forever remembered.
In particular, two technology advancements have made it much more difficult to contain PR crises in the modern day. Disasters can now spread swiftly and out of control around the world because to the growth of social media, which frequently attracts the attention of mainstream media outlets. There are essentially no barriers preventing the transmission of negative publicity due to the near-ubiquity of mobile technologies.
Because of advances in technology, public relations practitioners must react and prevent PR catastrophes more swiftly than ever before.
(The author is Mr. Rahul Singh, CEO, The Publicity Dude & Business Outreach Magazine and the views expressed in this article are his own)
