Social media is a powerful tool for the public relations segment, but social media alone is not PR. Public relations is a strategic effort to build a reputation in the right way, at the right time, with the right people.
PR is about getting what you have into the hearts and minds of the people who need it most.
One way to achieve this is to communicate through social media. They are a powerful PR tool, but they are not PR in themselves. They are a strategic effort to build a reputation in the right way, at the right time, with the right people.
Public Relations is a holistic approach to branding and business building. We get to choose our adventure when it comes to doing this on behalf of our clients. Of course, which adventure we choose depends on budget, lead time, and the issues facing the brand.
A good public relations professional should not prescribe you any particular tactic, such as advertising, based on your loyalty to it (or, in some cases, a limitation of knowledge and experience outside of the tactic he or she is targeting you for). Instead, he or she should prescribe you the best tactic and tool based on your budget and expectations.
Social media is a single communication tactic. Social media creation should be aligned with wider PR activities and business strategy.
One day we will look back and laugh at this era of needing to be visible 24/h but for now and the longer term future, social media is here to stay and is doing very well. PR holistically, on the other hand, will move with the attention economy wherever it goes and no matter what other tools prevail over social media.
The synergy between PR and social media should be maintained so that companies can maximise the benefits of a PR strategy that includes a consistent, coherent and meaningful piece of social media as part of its communications puzzle.
Marlena Kalisiewicz