A change in PR occurred 10 years ago with the advent of the internet.
- the internet is not simply a resource for people in the PR industry, rather, it IS the industry
- Thus, with the internet came PR 2.0
PR 2.0
Deirdre Breakenridge (blogger and author extraordinaire)
states in
PR 2.0: A communicator's manifesto that a new breed of PR professionals has been born. Brands are now immediately connected to customers through online activity and broadband connectivity. CEOs, executives, stakeholders and even products are able to directly communicate and participate in dialogue with consumers. You can follow the head of the company who made your car on twitter, you can read blogs about McDonalds' employee treatment written by an employee, and you can become a fan of your favourite beer on facebook. These are all aspects of
good PR. The product/company is putting its name out there, and remember- there's no such thing as bad publicity!
In our global market consumers have buying power and choices. We can boycott certain brands and access products and services across the globe. Therefore, consumers can expect a lot from their favourite brands. Deirdre states that consumers "desire direct communication, to hear firsthand about products and services,to be able to ask questions and receive quick responses, to hear a person’s voice and to learn the company’s position on an issue in its industry, and to believe they can trust the people behind their favorite brands."
Some organizations have taken the opposite approach and are staying off of the social media bandwagon.
Marshall McLuhan coined the term "the medium is the message." This indicates that how a brand communicates with the target audience IS the message. The internet IS our industry. Marshall McLuhan stated that narcotic numbness describes how multiple organizations only embrace the technology they are familiar and comfortable with. Michael Cayley's
blog post adds to this and compares an organization's fear of new branding tools to the story of the Wizard of Oz.
David Lee King added great insight with his blog about inviting active participation. He implies that individuals need to start actually participating rather than simply listening. This advice applies to organizations that are just getting started connecting with the public through social media. Rather than participating passively they need to jump into the dialogue head first and build relationships with consumers.
Sick of being labelled a "spin doctor," Deirdre hoped the collaboration of PR with technology would increase the credibility of the public relations industry and thus decrease the negative stigma associated with it.
PR 2.0 puts the “public” back into public relations by reaching an audience on a much greater scope. Brands can now connect with people that they never would have reached in the past. The concept of putting the public back into PR is driven by technology and behavior of the modern day consumer.
- Deirdre states, "we are all learning and together, as professionals we are reinventing the PR industry, breathing life into our profession through the use of socialized media. We are truly Putting the Public Back in Public Relations.”
Another way that the public has become a key player in public relations is that organizations can now listen to bloggers, tweeters, etc. to find out exactly what the consumer wants! There is no more guesswork involved. In the past, products were created and PR would raise awareness for them. Now it is the opposite. Before a product is created organizations can listen to their public and see what people like and what they want and create products to suit these wants and needs. The public has become an essential part of public relations.
