Last week we came across an interesting article on Web 2.0 Journal calling for the end of PR.
The argument was that some 70 percent of current PR firms won’t survive the future “avalanche” of social media.
Furthermore, according to the article’s author Fuat Kircaali, 90 percent of today’s firms are only in business because of SEC rules that dictate publicly traded companies must communicate by press release.
I disagree with this theory.
While the future of the public relations landscape may not look like it currently does now, I don’t think PR is at risk of extinction.
So what will the future of public relations and marketing look like?
Big PR firms will maybe shrink in number a bit – call it consolidation. Major accounts like Nike, Microsoft and Apple aren’t going anywhere, but I suspect smaller companies will start looking internally for their PR efforts.
In-house writers and bloggers will work to create engaging content and media across a variety of online sites. Most companies already have a blog, but the rising influence of social media will probably place a greater emphasis on maintaining and updating the blog.
Companies will be looking to send prospective clients and customers to their Website via sites like Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, and a blog can make for an informative and engaging landing site.
In-house “PR” isn’t of course limited to the written word. Videos can be created and uploaded to sites like YouTube and Vimeo. Images can be posted on sites like Flickr. These aren’t sites to be used for spamming, but for sharing of real content that will interest viewers.
Of course this will place a premium on creativity – something usually outsourced to a large PR firm – but having someone with a digital art and communications degree on salary can give smaller companies a more cost-effective option.
Social media accounts have boomed in recent years, led in a large part by LiveJournal and MySpace. Sites like Facebook, Digg and Twitter have followed, along with innumerous others. Some, like Facebook have grown to far surpass LiveJournal and MySpace.
While it’s important for companies to have these online profiles and identities and to keep them active, it makes little fiscal sense to have social media sent to a PR firm. Your company’s Twitter profile can and SHOULD be managed by someone, or multiple someones, within the company itself.
Keeping your image online personable and “real” is what really counts on these social media sites. Consumers can see right through blatant brand marketing most of the time, so you should approach a site like Twitter with the idea that it’s a place to communicate and share with the community at large.
The future of public relations and marketing also lies in online branding and reputation management.
Any Joe Plumber with a blog and a bit of spare time can pick apart your business if they choose to. Knowing how to monitor online buzz and how to respond is already a valuable part of PR.
But is this something that must be sent to a big firm?
Again, I don’t think so. Sites like Splitweet already exist to help the in-house public relations specialist to monitor what’s going on and being said about the company and industry. Techrigy is another great option for monitoring online buzz.
With so many available sites to create profiles, share content and participate in the community, there are equal numbers of places to brand your company, build your image and increase word of mouth advertising.
The future of public relations and marketing will also include HTML5.0 applications like the forthcoming Google Wave.
While we won’t know the full potential of such applications until they go live, as you can see from the video, the potential for a media-rich online collaborative public relations campaign is there.
So while we may see some of the bigger public relations firms consolidate over the course of the next 5-10 years, I don’t believe PR will go extinct. Press releases are only one of many tools when it comes to properly managing public relations.
We’re simply seeing the evolution of the industry.
By: Zack S.
