Need to Know: The 7 Ways Social Media Has Changed PR

There is no denying that social media has changed the way we communicate and for PRs who are in the forefront of Social PR, it has put a whole new spin on the way they promote content, pitch to journalists and engage with their online community.

For one,  it’s made corporate communications cooler, allowing companies to experiment with a different persona, a fun one expressed in succinct, creative ways, away from long, drawn-out business jargon.  Yet as digital technology advances and becomes the backbone of every industry, social media has evolved from a networking tool to a marketing function. Social has become as much compulsory as cool for businesses embracing smart technology to become, well, smarter.

Whether it is a press release or a press pitch, communications supported by a social media strategy helps increase reach and visibility. And most PRs acknowledge the impact social media has had on their work role and the industry all together. Indeed, 60% of PRs use social media for more than one hour per day, according to our Social PR Study 2015. Yet, upon  deeper analysis, the Study also revealed that PRs are not implementing the full potential of social PR with a high percentage of professionals failing to respond or engage with journalists and audience online.

What then explains this contradiction between the way PRs view social media and their use of it? One factor could be the speed at which social media has embedded itself in the essential communication mix, putting a whole new spin on the PR role whilst demanding more time for more responsibilities that need to be met with different skillsets and tools.

To understand the full impact social media has had on PR and identify what communication professionals can do to take advantage of these changes, Cision has created a new guide:

The 7 Ways Social Media Has Changed PR, outlining all you need to know.

Get the guide to discover:

• The seven ways social has made its mark on PR as we know it
• How PRs can identify and overcome the challenges of social PR
• Key comparisons of how journalists and PRs view and use social media