Written by a Collaborator
Over the last twenty years, the PR industry has had to adapt in many ways. Traditional forms of PR still have relevance in today’s world, but it’s a new breed of highly specialised PR teams that are the cool kids in town.
Specialist PR isn’t a new thing. There have long been agencies that have a chosen field and favour work in that area—for example, automotive PRs or Economic PRs. Before the arrival of the internet, these companies used what we now refer to as ‘traditional PR’ which involved a process that was relatively simple, but much harder to deliver. A pre-internet press list would have taken years to build and getting your message out to consumers was provided by only a few channels—newspaper, Radio and TV advertisements – including product placement.
Today, PR firms have almost instant access to all members of the media. The internet gave us LinkedIn, Twitter and a growing list of online press sights which list emails for journalists and PRs. You can create a press list in a day. However, the value of that list is slightly less to today’s ‘digital era’ of PR. Why go to press when you can hit your consumer straight between the eyes?
There are multiple free channels for getting your message out there; all of them target a slightly different audience. Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, continually updates its PR and sales capabilities for businesses. Want to reach your younger audience, get your dance on with TikTok. With so many trends and so many different demographics, specialist PR has evolved in more. Today, there are firms which focus specifically on Instagram campaigns for specific sectors.
As well as a multiple choice of platforms and more complex demographics, more industries realise the need to exploit B2C relationships. Companies such as Elite Lawyer Management specialise in lawyer PR. A profession that would usually have relied on paid-for advertising and word of mouth. If you own a business, it’s not just enough to be on social media. You have to understand how to use it to reach your audience effectively.
Direct access to the consumer isn’t always a positive for a company. The consumer now has instant access to you, and everything they say is public. This is where you need a strong Digital PR. Who understands both your consumers’ demands and needs and the company inside out. With the right person, you can put a positive spin on a negative comment.
While specialist PR has evolved, the role that traditional PR plays is still relevant. There are lots of skills from the pre-internet days that can benefit new PR companies today. However, the world of public relations has undoubtedly changed, and the benefits of working with highly specialised professionals are evident.
It will be interesting to see how the industry evolves over the next twenty years. How do you think the world will communicate? We’ll have to wait and see!
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