By Deja Watts
The origin of Public Relations (P.R.) can be traced back to some of the earliest forms of communication, such as cave drawings, during the Dawn of the Ages B.C. Since then, we have gone through the Age of Print (1440-1831), the Age of Mass Media (the 1800s-1970s), and lastly, the current Age of Digital Media (1969-). Feel free to explore past ages in the source links below; however, we will focus on more recent developments. The internet was created on Oct. 29, 1969, by Stanford University and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). This led to emails being created in 1971, international communication in 1973, the origin of I.P. in 1974, and history. Corporations, law enforcement, and government agencies began to use the internet for crisis communication (Tylenol murders of 1982). This period is the foundation for the way governments communicate with citizens, how businesses communicate with customers, and how loved ones communicate with one another. Now, in the present day of Public Relations, it is the Age of Social Media. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and many more social media platforms have taken over the internet for the past 10+ years. With the rise of these social media, many governments, businesses, and individuals all have social media accounts. Governments and businesses have had to ensure a high level of clear communication with their audiences. Messages can often be misconstrued or misunderstood when a person cannot hear or see the expression behind them. For this reason, governments and businesses have to be extremely mindful when relaying messages. In addition to this, society is constantly changing. Ten years ago, society was less sensitive to harsh words, realities, and some inequalities (LGBTQ+). Now, following last year’s rise of unrest in the U.S. due to inequality (police shootings, etc.), the national divide because of the presidential election, and the global pandemic, society has become increasingly sensitive to many different causes. What does this have to do with P.R.? Everything! All of these factors determine how governments and businesses interact and communicate with their audience. P.R. teams have to determine when it is best to address an issue, how it will be addressed, and in some cases, what stance the company will take. For example, many businesses stood with the #BlackLivesMatter movement last year, while some took an objective approach (supported BLM & law enforcement) or said nothing at all on the matter. In conclusion, Public Relations strategies and approaches change with the times. In this field, it is vital to have a general understanding of everything. Read the latest news articles, click on exciting pieces of information, and constantly expand your knowledge. The more you know, the less you don’t know, and the more you can contribute to solving important societal issues. Be mindful, calculated, and strategic in not only P.R. but in everything you do! Sources: Public Relations Through the Ages: A Timeline of Social Movements, Technology Milestones and the Rise of the Profession.* https://www.prmuseum.org/pr-timeline The History of the Internet and the Colleges That Built It. https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2013/11/history-internet-and-colleges-built-it
0 Comments
By Solomon Bradford
Social media dominates how people exchange and receive information in today’s society. Public relations professionals work behind the scenes to promote their clients by constantly looking for unique and new ways to gain exposure for their clients. Following are several ways social media helps public relations professionals to promote a client.
Social media is the leading way to interact and engage with the masses. Internationally and nationally, people resort to social media for entertainment, news, to keep up trending topics, and much more. With the continued evolution of social media, companies can engage with their audiences at their fingertips. Essentially, the reason public relations professionals promote their clients through social media can best be described as, ”These new media win the believe in of customers by linking with them at a deeper level.”(Social Media and Its Role in Marketing, 2016) Source: Sajid, S.I. “Social Media and Its Role in Marketing.” Institutional Repository, 2016, 41.89.240.73/handle/123456789/810. By Nna Justice Ekwonna
When it comes to race relations, times are more tumultuous than ever. There has been a lot of pressure on companies to speak out on race issues, such as campaigns like "Black Lives Matter" or "Stop Asian Hate." Today, it is easier to get "canceled" than ever before. The public is more sensitive than ever, and it almost seems like people are waiting for that one moment for a company to slip up and ruin their business. The racial protests combating police brutality after George Floyd's death seem to have sparked change in consumerism, and companies and their public relations departments have the duty more than ever to step up to the plate and discuss race relations in the world. Just days after George Floyd suffocated under Derek Chauvin's knees, Proctor & Gamble took a leap of faith and started working on an ad campaign called "The Choice," which was intended for white people. The words "Being White in America is not needing to state your life matters. And when your life matters, you have power. Now is the time to use it" appeared over shots of a blue-eyed, white person with a freckled back. Proctor & Gamble and other companies have decided to team up with Gauge, a technology company that links companies with different social media networks, as social media is where these issues are discussed the most. They are designed to help companies with not only their perspective on race but also in regards to the LGBTQ community, gender, and women's rights. Even with companies' good intentions, it is also crucial for them not to become exploitive. Companies like Pepsi and Starbucks have tried to incorporate racial equality into their ads over the years, but some campaigns have backfired, as some seemed insincere. Due to scenarios like this, companies are starting to take the initiative and promote racial equality before something tumultuous occurs. By Ron Emelife
This past February, the NBA All-Star Game was hosted in Atlanta, Georgia. The game is one of the most significant events the NBA has to offer. Millions of people who tuned in to watch their favorite NBA players also got to see players representing Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The Final Four was a huge public relations opportunity for the HBCUs. The event provided the HBCU players and their schools' immeasurable exposure, as some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment showed up to watch their favorite NBA players compete in skills challenges, watch the highest flyers compete in the dunk contest and, of course, watch the main event featuring the stars compete in a competitive game. The NBA decided that a chunk of the funds made from the All-Star Game this year will be donated to scholarship funds at HBCUs. As a former NBA player and now first-year head coach of Alabama State, Mo Williams stated, "Everything is about exposure." The NBA commissioner also stated, this is one of the primary reasons they chose Atlanta for the game this year, as it was an opportunity to focus on the HBCUs. The exposure paid off, as the NBA generated $3 million for select HBCU's at this year's event. By Deja WattsIn the world of Public Relations (PR), creating content is one of the most important aspects of connecting with your target audience. It is vital to know how and exactly what to say when speaking to a current or prospective client. This is a skill that grows with experience.
David Sawyer, an international PR expert, based in the United Kingdom, has been in the industry for over 20 years. He specializes in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and digital marketing since creating his PR firm in 2014. He states, "It is only by knowing the people who follow your stuff intimately that you can help them." Depending on what services, products, or expertise one offers to clients, the marketing strategy should always be tailored and customized to the target audience. No matter how big or small an indivdual's following is from the audience, it is critical to study the insights and engagement reports to provide relevant content. David also says, "There is no substitute for knowing how to tell a story coupled with good old promotion when it comes to producing killer content and getting it out there." In a nutshell, after tailoring content to a specific target audience: PROMOTE! There is no way around these steps, especially in today's world of social media. A person can have the best idea globally, but it means nothing if no one knows about it. Share the content, pay for promotion, and invest in personal growth. In the new world of social media influencers and social media monetization in general, many businesses and brands are using this to their advantage. Whether it is entrepreneurship, building a brand, or managing someone else's, remember two things in deciding to pursue. First, create content that is strategically tailored to the target audience. Please pay close attention as they engage with and respond to gather as much information as possible. Second, share the content! Make sure the news is seen and heard. Pay attention to social media algorithms so that content is not lost; research the field, the audience, and the competitors. After these steps, enjoy the route to success! Source: Tips from 8 World-Leading PR Experts on Writing Influential Content https://www.prezly.com/academy/content-creation/how-to-write-content-that-influences-people-with-top-tips-from-7-world-leading-pr-experts BY ANDRE GOMEZ Networking is essential for career growth in any industry. Even with experience, degrees, and the certifications necessary for a job, there are hundreds of other candidates who possess the same credentials. How can you stand out to a potential employer? What sets people apart when looking to advance their career is a professional network: the people that you have connected and built relationships with throughout your career.
I was first introduced to networking right after high school; my best friend helped me get my first job through his employer. He put in a good word for me and I was able to get an interview, and ultimately, the job. At the time, I did not realize that I was networking; I just thought my friend was doing me a favor. Almost every job or internship I’ve landed since, has been a result of the relationships I’ve built with professors from school, or connections I’ve made in extracurricular organizations. As I started to gain more work experience and matriculate through college, networking kept occurring. Research shows that between 50 and 80 percent of jobs are filled through networking. Having a stellar resume and work experience is only one part of moving up the corporate ladder. That is why it is particularly important to build your network and foster mutually beneficial relationships. Sometimes it's not what you know, but who you know that can be the deciding factor. Source: How to get a job often comes down to one elite personal asset https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/27/how-to-get-a-job-often-comes-down-to-one-elite-personal-asset.html By Andre Gomez Public relations is such a broad field; some parents may not even realize that communications or public relations (PR) is a field of secondary education. These parents may discourage their children who are prospective or current college students from choosing Communications as their career field of study. This is especially true in the Hispanic Latino community. It is common for minorities to encourage their children who attend college to go into a field where the job will yield an extremely high return on investment and something that allows bragging rights for the family to talk about; for example, such as being a lawyer, doctor, engineer or going into finance.
In the Latino community, many parents uprooted themselves and moved over to the United States for a chance at a better life and the route to that better life is simple to the parents: get a good education and do well in school; get a job and provide for yourself and the family. These are just the cultural expectations for those who come from Latino backgrounds; strong family ties and obedience are the main drivers of the decisions about Latino students choosing a college major and career field. But there’s a positive side to Latinos choosing PR as a major and career field that many parents do not realize. If more Latinos went into PR, it would boost the potential of brands to tap into a market with huge buying power. Also, Latinos are one of the most active social media user demographics in the United States. Who better than to represent and advocate for brands than the Latino community? More Latinos in PR would be beneficial to all brands and even change the stereotype or cultural misconception that Latinos only go into certain fields of work. Source: Latinos and Public Relations: A Need for Latino Inclusion in the PR Sectorhttps://explorefcg.com/latinos-public-relations-need-latino-inclusion-pr-sector/ Why client satisfaction should be your first priority and how it can be impactful to your business11/29/2020 By Chinwe Uzukwu It is very important that public relations (PR) professionals strive to help their organizations achieve high ratings of client satisfaction. A public relations firm's reputations is based not only on the work they do for their clients, but the relationships they have with their clients. Satisfied clients can help to promote firms through their network, and thereby create a steady stream of new clients for the firm. Therefore, it is essential that firms make client satisfaction a priority.
Here are a few ways firms can maintain client satisfaction:
These tips can help public relations firms to build and maintain client relations, and potentially build an outstanding reputation. Sources: How to increase customer through effective communication https://www.quadient.com/en-AU/blog/how-increase-customer-satisfaction-through-effective-communications How can professional service PR firms build client loyalty? http://www.blissintegrated.com/2010/07/19/how-can-professional-services-pr-firms-build-client-loyalty/ Measuring customer satisfaction is easier than you thought--with the right metrics https://www.agilitypr.com/pr-news/public-relations/measuring-customer-satisfaction-is-easier-than-you-thought-with-the-right-metrics/ Public Relations--A Tool for Enhancing Customer Satisfaction https://www.agencyreporter.com/public-relations-a-tool-for-enhancing-customer-satisfaction/ By Andre Gomez By Andre Gomez
Early this year, the coronavirus or COIVD-19 put an immediate halt on almost everything throughout the United States. Lockdowns, shut downs and even state of emergencies caused the economy and many industries and businesses to take a hit; many businesses still have not recovered as we come to the end of 2020. Nevertheless, there is still work that must be done such as this article for my Strategic Public Relations class (aka SPR Group). From my perspective as a public relations student, I believe the pandemic has revealed that public relations (PR) and PR professionals are invaluable when it comes to helping brands and companies to adjust to the new normal and maintain their reputations. Companies and brands that showed their audiences early in the pandemic that they understand and sympathize with them by adapting protocols to keep them and their families safe will be held in high regard. When the pandemic first hit the United States, there was so much fear about the virus, yet many people who were essential workers had to risk leaving the safety of their homes to continue providing for themselves and their families. I believe that companies and brands who did not prioritize the health of their audiences early on, and those that still do not, will suffer from damage to their reputations and profits for years after COVID-19 has ended. By Chinwe Uzukwu In general, it is important to have diversity in a business setting no matter the type of business it is. An industry such as Public Relations (PR) needs a team of members who are different from one another in order to develop campaigns that appeal to a diverse audience. After all, it is the media and the target audience’s public opinion that will determine if a PR plan was successful or not.
For instance, the famous clothing brand “H&M” received severe backlash over their back-to-school advertising campaign for fall 2019. This particular campaign featured elementary school children in H&M hoodies. The campaign displayed a number of children from all races to model their collection. The African-American young girl received a ton of backlash due to how her hair was represented in their campaign, causing H&M to send out a statement defending their decision process with the campaign. The target audience for the campaign was highly displeased with everything about the campaign. If you were to check the PR team members for H&M at that time, you would see there were no people of color on the team. It is very important to reflect racial diversity in PR and marketing campaigns to avoid controversial campaigns such as this one. PR firms and professionals need to understand and learn these lessons to increases their chances of generating positive responses from their target audience. Having a person of color on your PR team can result in better outcomes for campaigns. When planning campaigns, African-Americans can bring different perspectives from those of Caucasians or other races, and vice versa. The more diversity in the PR industry helps PR professionals respect customs, beliefs, and cultures of other races. Source: PR Agencies Need to Be More Diverse and Inclusive. Here’s How to Start. https://hbr.org/2018/04/pr-agencies-need-to-be-more-diverse-and-inclusive-heres-how-to-start#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Bureau%20of,%2C%20and%205.7%25%20Hispanic%20American.&text=For%20example%2C%20Barri%20Rafferty%20of,top%2010%20public%20relations%20agencies |
AuthorBowie State University SPR Group Student Blog Archives
May 2022
Categories
All
|