Public relations and managing reputation

Free report on PR and social media…Trust, crowds (utilisation of, communicating to, segmenting of…), integration (or not) of social media and corporate websites, the death of ‘networked’ communication, content generation issues and the challenges of change within social media were some of the primary themes that were either explicitly stated at the 2010 Frocomm New Media Summit, bubbled under its surface or were notable not for their articulation, but by their surprising absence…

This is the second part of a two-part series on social media’s impact on the practice of PR and the profession itself. This post talks about how, in the 21st century, PR should be leveraging its logical leadership of social media for all its worth and use it as an opportunity to position itself more favourably as a management discipline that delivers business-relevant results.

Whilst I don’t pretend to have any great insights on this matter, I was recently interviewed by British uni student Hayley McDonald (@HAYCMAC) on how social media is impacting on the practice of PR and how it is changing the way PR pros work, with the critical upshot being that making the right strategic decision, on a variety of levels, is more important (and, yes, more challenging) than ever.

In the rush to become social media experts, and to grab the largest slice of its revenue, responsibility and thought leadership pie, public relations pros are at risk of missing the main digital game: that of providing meaningful, resonant and useful content for corporate websites that is search engine optimised and customised to the needs of organisational stakeholders.

Working in a PR agency often grabs the headlines, but there are far more public relations positions working in the in-house environment, conceivably a far more satisfying milieu in which to work – read the views of a very experienced in-house PR leader, who shares his views on what it takes to carve out a successful career in public relations.

A joint-managing director of leading Australia’s technology and business PR consultancy shares his views on what it takes to carve out a successful career in public relations: experience and literacy in social media, passion and an ability to take it on the chin – they all help build the ‘personal brand’.

The defining theme of best practice public relations is that organisations which proactively create mutually meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships with their stakeholders are, “…more likely to develop relationships with their publics that make it possible to achieve organisational objectives and develop a positive reputation…”

Along with eye-rolling, can-you-believe-it dumb marketing and/or PR moments in 2009 (think loser marketers, the GFC and social media) there have, thankfully, been plenty of inspirational examples of best practice professional communication too. Most importantly, what have we learnt during the year and how will it make us better communicators?

Blogging about public relations is motivating because of the discipline’s inherent drama, aptitude for telling interesting stories and constant shape-shifting. A major motivating factor behind the blog’s inception was (and is) to raise awareness of the strategic importance of public relations to business and how its best practice application leads to a more equitable society.

Strategically, social media offers immense utility for public relations professionals when it comes to crisis management but, conversely, it also opens up organisations to immense risk.