I opened up an idea to my community a few weeks ago: a panel of professionals that could answer submitted questions about PR and Social Media. I asked #prbc to be the first group and asked them four questions. Since they are a chatty bunch with great insight, I will be posting one question at a time. Read through their answers (although I edited for length, not content – Sorry!) leave your thoughts in the comments or what your answer is, and let’s start a great discussion.
QUESTION: What effect do you think Social Media has had on the public relations industry?
Keith Trivitt: Social media has allowed the PR industry to learn new ways to circumvent the traditional gatekeepers of the news industry – an industry that is quickly diminishing, both in terms of influence and overall scope. We are now able to demonstrate to the key stakeholders within our own organizations or in our clients’ business that there are very effective ways to reach your key audiences and influencers by creating and promoting your own content.
Danielle Cyr: Social media has dramatically changed the PR industry. To its credit, SM has increased communication amongst peers, opened up new channels for accessing information and identifying sources, and taught PR pros to be increasingly succinct. It has improved the ability for PR pros to build relationships with both their peers and the media because of its real time capabilities.
TJ Dietderich: Y’all know how I feel about social media. We’re all broadcasters now; SM has turned what used to be called PR into customer relations. Imagine that, having to actually relate to your customers! Is traditional media still important? Of course, as long as our customers need it. But what social media has done is put the responsibility of actually doing the right thing for the people who need your product on us, not the media. We have no excuses anymore. If our message isn’t getting to the right people, we have only ourselves to blame, because they’re out there.
Marie V-B: I’ll take a little bit of a different twist on this question. I think social media has had a tremendous impact on how public relations pros operate. In the olden days it was okay to make mistakes; we could get away with sending out poor pitches, pitching the wrong person, etc. Now, there is no room for error. Journalists, producers and bloggers have multiple platforms to broadcast the mishaps of publicists. I think social media has improved the art of public relations. It makes us think and triple think about every action we take. That’s a good thing, in my opinion.
Christina Khoury: I’d have to agree with Marie here, there is definitely less if no room for error. So yes we’ve learned to not only think and triple think our actions, but personally I’m learning because of these errors by media professionals. I’ve definitely learned a heck of a lot more on “what not to do” and enjoy reading the “how to” posts that usually stem from an frustrated media colleague.
CT Michaels: Social Media has connected people that normally wouldn’t be connected. I honestly think it has helped make people a “real person.” I have been able to interact directly with CEOs of companies, and celebrities – which is great! 
I think it is still in the works though, meaning the PR Industry has not fully gotten the grasp of the concept and by the time they do, it will be to late. If I signed e-mails @ctmichaels, people would be like, Whoa!
Kate Ottavio: I’d have to say we are fortunate to have SM in today’s PR world. The field of communications will be forever-changing. My professors in college who had worked at agencies would joke with us about how they sent press releases via snail mail back in “their day.” What a neat situation we are in to have the challenge of figuring out how best to capitalize on SM for ourselves and our clients . . . keeping ideas and forms of communication fresh and consistently expanding.
Jess Greco: I just started writing my response and realized that Keith said it pretty perfectly. Social Media has allowed us to help brands connect directly with their consumers without going through all of the traditional channels. While this concept has definitely been used and abused, the brands that are doing it right are seeing ENORMOUS benefits in terms of communications, brand loyalty, and brand recognition. Beyond clients, I think social media has dramatically enhanced our research skills and has really provided the opportunity for PR people of all backgrounds to collaborate, come together, and attempt to understand where our industry is going.
PR Cog: I’ll take a different tack with this one — Social Media has given any level of PR Pro the ability to really brand themselves. No longer is the ability to demonstrate your skills limited to those high on the totem pole or those running million dollar campaigns. Are you a 3rd year employee that ran a successful campaign on a shoestring? Provided you can get employer approval, a case study (or white paper or blog series) discussing the strategy (bragging) is only a few keystrokes away. Spreading the word on that, if done right, is even easier. Calls from executive recruiters….
Ok, community. What do you think? What are your thoughts?
