Public Relations: Turning the Page

LAF note: This Young Minds post was written by my co-worker, Chad Sour.

Look around you. Day-in and day-out, it’s abundantly clear to those in the public relations industry (and especially those of us that read this blog) that we’ve reached a new chapter in our industry. The way we communicate with the consumer on behalf of our clients has completely changed. Some call it PR 2.0, and while many of us have kept pace with these rapid changes, who among us is able to pinpoint the exact date that we turned the page into this new chapter of public relations?

As I make my rounds to various networking events, I’ve noticed that while many of us have flipped the page, there are still several who have not – they seem to be stuck PR 1.7. While they all seem to be aware of what lays ahead – social media, shrinking news rooms and 24-hour news cycles, to name a few, they don’t seem ready to take the plunge. These folks seem to be stuck in the days of massive cold-call “media-lists” and fax distribution news releases. The practitioners in this category run the gamut in age, from PR rookie to 20-year veteran and many of them are still very good at communicating their client’s message, but there is nevertheless some resistance to changing their processes and protocols.

As I see these practitioners struggling to catch up, to post their first tweet or distribute their first SMR, and I have to wonder if one day all of us PR 2.0ers will have trouble adjusting to whatever is next- let’s call it PR 3.0.

Sure, public relations, much like any other industry, is constantly evolving so I don’t know that you can put exact dates on these shifts, but I wonder how we will know when PR 3.0 gets here. What will mark its arrival; set it apart from the previous chapters in the book of public relations. Perhaps more importantly, what can we do to make sure we’re not left in the dust?

*Image copyright of http://www.bbc.co.uk/wear/content/

Dig what you read? Share with others:

deandrad

I work in PR on the sports/events side and I can definitely attest to people being "stuck in PR 1.7" and as fresh faces enter the company, it's always a struggle between traditional ways of working vs. new. Alot of times I'm asked to prove why the "new" way is better. Most times, it's successful.

As everyone else has said, we have to continue to be students of the game. Not only that, we must continue to be open to change and adapt well, whether it's difficult to grasp at first or not (which is why I think some practitioners opt to remain "traditional"). It's also important to observe trends (not always follow, if not necessary) in order to stay fresh and on the cusp of new media because what we're doing now may certainly be out of date in the next 10 years.
adrienneborrego

I agree with annawoodlock. Just as the doctors, nurses and staff in my office have continuing education classes to learn the latest in medicine, I think that we in PR need continuing education to learn the latest in public relations and the media. It's important to not only learn about the newest in social media, but also how it will be useful for your specific company and your clients.
annawoodlock

We can never stop learning. As new and innovative strategies continue to evolve, we must always be willing to learn about them.
maggiekierl

Great Post Chad! Very true. Don't you think PR 3.0 is already making its way into the industry? I think as long as we stay on top of social media that we'll be able to keep up with the times.