By Chinwe Uzukwu Public Relations (PR) industry is a growing and fast paced industry. It is said that since the last five years the public relations industry has grown 13.9 percent. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Employment of public relations specialists is projected to grow seven percent from 2019 to 2029, faster than the average for all occupations.” Despite the decline in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses still need public relations to help them to manage their public image through messages that inform and/or influence their audiences.
For the last 30 years, the public relations industry has shown their tactics to be very effective for persuading the public, and influencing public opinion. A standard PR campaign may concentrate on getting a company or client’s information talked about and/or promoted on television, radio, websites, magazines, or other media to reach the target audience. However, as technology and audiences continue to evolve, it is important to stay up-to-date with today’s trends in the marketing world. New tactics for PR campaigns can help with promotion of your firm and help boost client satisfaction. Here are the top PR trends to be on the lookout for. Social Media: The growing spike of social media is one that cannot be stopped. The digital era has made it much easier to measure public engagement. Social media channels allow PR professionals to view comments, likes, or any type of feedback that involves the public, making campaign promotion for clients much less of a hassle. As PR professionals always continue severe research on which social media channel has the best response or which social media channel has the most users. As of 2020, Facebook was the first social media platform to reach over 1 billion listed accounts and currently has 2.6 billion active users. Youtube is not too far behind from this statistic. When it comes to campaigning try to promote on popular social media platforms the outcome for success for a client and your business will most likely be higher. Also, plan on networking on these big social media platforms. Reach out to other PR professionals. Almost every PR professional is on Facebook or Instagram. Influencer Marketing: The digital era is a way of life now. Getting your client (especially a celebrity) on television, or in newspapers and magazines is no longer more impressive than getting him or her on social media. It depends on the audience. Try reaching out to popular social influencers to help with campaigns and business. Influencer marketing can help reach your target audience much faster. Influencer marketing will continue to grow in the year of 2021. Brands are continuously on the lookout for influencers to help boost sales. When choosing an influencer, gravitate towards one who will be able to get content out to your target audience. If your client campaign deals with makeup and cosmetics, try to reach out to an influencer with a huge following who advocates for health/beauty. Also make sure to have rewards for your influencer. Negotiate bargains with the influencer that you choose, so that networking can continue between you two. Visual Search: Not too long ago, google released their new feature "visual search" and plenty of other platforms released their own spin on the feature as well. What is visual search? Visual search allows every search click to first be introduced by a photo or screenshots. This feature can allow PR professionals to upload a photograph and display their client's campaign; it also allows you to place a photo of the client's business or firm, which will allow viewers and consumers to be engaged with what you are promoting. When trying to impact your consumers, always think about millennials. That is where most of your money will come from! Here's one final tip: When targeting your audience, always think about millennials. This population is fueling the growth of the consumer market and other segments as well. Sources: Statista https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/ Yoast https://yoast.com/visual-search/ Media Tool Kit (PR Measurement) https://www.mediatoolkit.com/blog/top-5-pr-trends-to-look-out-for-in-2020/ Bureau of Labor Statistics https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes273031.htm Bureau of Labor Statistics https://www.bls.gov/ooh/media-and-communication/public-relations-specialists.htm
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Indira Adams After finally graduating from college, most students begin looking for a job that is related to their major. If you are seeking a job in Public Relations (PR), it is very important to follow certain steps.
You should create and outstanding resume, identify and frequently monitor PR job boards, and network. Creating and having an outstanding resume can prove to be a little difficult but it is definitely worth the time and effort. Your resume is your chance to show off all of your great skills. You should include all PR related classes and experiences that you have had. Also, it is very important to tailor your resume specifically to the job you are applying for. Creating a cover letter is also very helpful. It can increase your chances for a second interview. Most importantly, check your resume and cover letter for spelling and grammatical errors. Using PR job boards can be very proficient. Examples of a few great places to find them are The PR Coach, PR News, and PR Crossing. Some might give you the option to post your resume on their websites so companies can see it. Lastly, it is very crucial to network. You should network with people inside and outside of the industry. You may never know what kind of job opportunity may come your way from networking with others. Also, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) is a wonderful organization for recent graduates to join, This organization presents worldwide PR opportunities. Becoming a member is a great way to stay on top of local networking events with a variety of professionals in your field. This will help you gain an advantage over others who have also recently graduated. The process of finding a good PR job will take a lot of time and effort. You may not get one right when you want to, but you will eventually find the right one for you. Source: https://www.prsa.org/find-a/find-a-job/ By Hind Aljuaid In many African countries, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is taboo. AIDS is a life-threatening disease caused by the HIV virus, which severely reduces the body's ability to fight disease causing organisms and resistance to other infections, AIDS is still a taboo subject, often neglected by some countries because of it being a sexually transmitted disease (STD), the fact that it can spread from an infected person, and it is incurable. In countries where this is the case, it is critical that efforts be undertaken to increase awareness to save lives.
The countries that have made it taboo are also those that suffer the worst. Sub-Saharan Africa include countries such as South Africa, Nigeria, Mozambique, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe where AIDS is most prevalent. According to a UNAIDS report, 24.7 million people (71% of the global population) were suffering from the disease. Muslim countries also regard AIDS as a taboo condition. This is because of religious principles that prohibit sexual relations outside of marriage, and because most of the Muslim countries are poor which accounts for most of the social problems that exist in such countries. The Middle East and North African countries are also among those that are hesitant and reluctant to discuss AIDS. This custom prevails also in Indonesia but recently there has been more awareness of the disease in this country. What these countries need is a complete realization of the seriousness of this disease. Immunity is what keeps humans strong. If that is taken away from the body, common infections, colds and flu can become incurable. In light of this, these countries can be helped through conveyance of complete information about AIDS. Some of the extensive ways it can be done are:
Although measures are being taken in some countries to handle the AIDS epidemic, these taboos need to be tackled urgently, and awareness of the disease should be spread widely so that uneducated people do not fall victim to this fatal disease. Source: https://www.avert.org/infographics/hiv-and-aids-sub-saharan-africa April 8th, 2016. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4893541/ By Hind Aljuaid What would you do if your smartphone caught fire when you were 20,000 feet in the air? Or it blew up while you were holding it? Sounds alarming, doesn’t it? Well, the prospect of even imagining such a thing is horrible and terrifying. This disaster happened worldwide in September 2016. It was one of the biggest technological failures with one of technology’s smartphone giants, Samsung.
Samsung finally revealed the problems that had caused the phone to blow up. The company gave a report that said two major battery-manufacturing defects caused some phones to overheat and catch fire. The first issue was related to battery size. These were batteries made by Samsung but the batteries were too small causing the negative electrode part of the battery to bend and touch the positive electrode, increasing the likelihood of short-circuiting, especially while the phone was charging. Samsung recalled this initial batch of Note 7 and the company re-manufactured the phones with the battery by a different supplier, namely Amperex Technology Limited. Samsung was in a hurry to release the new batch (so that they could get back their audience as quickly as possible) but the new battery also had problems. These new batteries suffered from poor insulation as points left on the batteries were able to penetrate the protective insulating. Finally, Samsung had to recall at least 2.5 million phones (they should have tested at least a dozen before dispatching), but the replacements also started to smoke, forcing Samsung to cancel the product altogether. There was a total $5.4 billion loss to the company due to the Note 7 battery issues. Therefore, Samsung faced huge losses as the batteries posed a serious risk to people’s health and safety. Samsung’s credibility was adversely challenged. However, in the future Samsung can create a thorough procedure to test batteries and other mobile parts and employ it to all of their devices. Although new and upgraded smartphones sell based on some extraordinary feature added or a slim but powerful body, the company needs to keep public health and safety the number one priority. They should provide full compensation to the victims. The company should develop rigorous tests to check mobile parts and test more than a dozen phones from each batch to ensure safety. They can also lower the price of the next upgraded model for the customers or provide the new Samsung phone free of cost (well that’s something!). Sources: H. Amelia. January 24, 2017. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/galaxy-note-7-issues-what-happened. S. Matt. October 14, 2016. https://www.techradar.com/news/this-is-how-much-samsung-says-itll-lose-on-the-galaxy-note-7-recall By Corey Fields
I have learned from my experience working with clients on freelance public relations (PR) projects that it is important to thoroughly research your clients so that you will understand how best to address their PR needs. Note the following tips: 1. In-depth research will help you develop a good PR campaign for your client. 2. Conduct research on your client's recent PR activities. 3. Determine your client's competitors through your research. 4. Research your client's target audience and potential audiences that maybe more effective. 5. Research new trends related to you client's business; the information could help your client stay ahead of their competition. 6. Research previous media relations activity involving your client to study how to improve media outreach and results. 7. Researching multiple media outlets and media strategies will help you figure out your niche when it comes to media relations. Having these skills will help you be more valuable to your clients. By DeVonta' High
Many entertainers use their social media page for promotion. According to most public relations (PR) firms, digital and PR broadcast messages target customers through social channels. Social media helps entertainers keep in contact with their audience. It is one of many tools businesses can use to protect and promote their reputations. When public relations and marketing teams combine their efforts on social media, brands often enjoy immediate positive results. Some entertainers and celebrities may use trending topics to keep their audience and maintain their relevance. A trending topic is a topic that is the subject of many posts on a social media website within a short period of time. For example, trending is the name given to a topic or event that is being frequently talked about on social media. Trending topics and hashtags go hand in hand. Hashtags helps to expand the reach of trending topics. For instance, NFL team Minnesota Vikings is trending with their new team dance, which is called the “Dead Arm” dance. This now has fans and other youth and college teams doing the dance. By Corey Fields
Social Media Presence Your presence on social media can make or break your success with public relations (PR) projects, current and potential clients. Social media has become the world’s biggest marketplace and it is all about how you present yourself, what you say, and what you do on this platform. Good Eye Contact Booking your first client, as you will hear so many times, might be the most challenging thing to do. When you book your first client it is very important that you give great eye contact, that shows your future client how serious you are. Good eye contact might come in handy for meeting the love of your life, or getting your dream job. It can involve many different situations. Build Strong Partnerships Building stronger partnerships doesn’t just mean getting closer with people you already know. This also means getting out of your comfort zone and shaking hands and talking with people you don’t know. This is where good eye contact plays a big role as well as being a good communicator. Building strong partnerships with people you meet in the PR field may be a prospective client. While you are on the quest for your first client, remember that all the little things matter. Knowing Your Strengths Knowing your strengths will help you land your first client faster than you think. In PR, if you do not know your strengthens you could possibly be doing jobs that highlight your weaknesses. Knowing your strengths will help you figure out your worth, capabilities, and communicate your plan better to future clients. Find your strengths and build your portfolio focusing on all your strengths; it will take you a long way as a PR professional. By DeVonta' High
Public relations (PR) representatives help celebrities (e.g. famous actors, singers, rappers, authors) in many different ways such as by organizing events, tours, charities, etc. They may help music celebrities by telling their client when or when not to release any music. PR agents may also help build or maintain their clients' brand or image. Many music artists have a strong public relations team. Nowadays, these artists don’t just do music; many of them have their own fashion line and model as well. Young Thug, A$ap Rocky, Lil' Uzi Vert, and Lil' Wayne are just a few. By entering the fashion industry, music artists are able to stay in the public eye, and they can generate more revenue. Celebrity PR representatives also help their clients by finding opportunities for them to make public appearances such as award shows, charity and red carpet events, movie sets, interviews, and photo shoots. They also manage media relations for their celebrity clients. The list is endless. For more information about what celebrity public relations representatives do, visit https://work.chron.com/celebritys-public-relations-representative-do-22353.html. By Corey Fields
Being a college student is like walking into a new world of scholars. Some people may fall back and go with the crowd, and others choose to lead by example. Being a good communicator will not just get you through college, but it will get you through life. This article will teach you three important ways to become great communicators in college: 1. Listen to learn, don’t listen to respond. Today, many people do not listen for understanding anymore. Having your own opinion and speaking up for yourself is what social media professionals have turned the media world into. But life is very different being a public relations (PR) professional; being a good listener and note taker will help you master the understanding of you client’s vision and be able to provide superior service to his or her every need. When you have multiple clients, you must understand multiple audiences and have multiple strategies. A great way to practice this skill is to make sure you let your professors and classmates express their entire thought before your respond. 2. Network. Networking in PR is the best style of communication you can use while in college. Every day in school you are sitting next to people who have dreams and aspire to do great things. You may have classmates who already work in PR firms and with social media influencers. Don’t forget about your teachers either; many teachers may have already worked in the field you are looking to get into. Make sure you build connections with your teachers and classmates; get career advice from people who work in PR. Networking is very essential and can be the building block to your success. Networking just might land you the job of your dreams, all it takes is communication. 3. Take advantage of group presentations. As a college student for four years, I have learned many effective ways of using group presentations to hone my communication skills. The key to group presentations is to get you to work, understand, and communicate in a team setting. You should be aware that once you start working for a marketing or communication company, you will have to be able to work in groups and complete tasks. So, when your professor gives you a group assignment, volunteer to be the group leader and make sure everyone gets their work done on time. I promise you the experience will help to prepare you for your PR career. |
AuthorBowie State University SPR Group Student Blog Archives
May 2022
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