PR Trends
Like many other industries, the public relations field goes through a number of trends in the way information is reported and publicity is used. In order to be successful as a professional in public relations, it's important to keep up with the trends.
Blogging
A blog, short for web log, is a combination of a person's personal life and things that are happening on the web. They are online publications that take on the form of a journal, and many of them function as informal sources of information on a particular subject, such as public relations.
The popularity of the blog has skyrocketed recently, with about 30,000 new blogs added each day.
Blogging has become a trend in public relations for a number of reasons. First of all, some blogs are more famous and more widely-read than publications, so public relations personnel no longer have to rely on media pitches and press releases as a sole means of getting messages or information out in the public. In addition, creating a blog is easy and an effective way of communicating with customers as well as the general public.
RSS Feeds
Another emerging trend in the public relations industry, RSS feeds are important because they work to automatically send blog posts or updated content of a website or a client's website to subscribers who ask to be updated. This can include a large number of people, including customers, shareholders, journalists, and the general public.
RSS Feeds can be a helpful tool in public relations as they allow PR professionals to monitor their competition simply by subscribing to a feed. In addition, continual updates keep PR professionals aware of industry trends and news automatically.
Convergence of Entertainment and Publicity
Another trend in the industry consists of combining entertainment with the promotion or publicizing of a product or organization. This is especially popular when targeting consumers or an audience of younger people. For example, the Army provides those who visit their website downloads of realistic war games that are designed to give players a view of what combat is really like.
Publicity Success Measurement
Solely relying on clippings to measure success of a campaign is being replaced with a different trend. Now, public relations firms are measuring the success of their campaigns by actively surveying clients and assessing their own successes. This is accomplished through asking such questions as whether the publicity served to sway opinions or switch users, whether people's decisions were measurably influenced, whether market share increased as a result, and whether sales or profits increased as a result of campaigns. Conducting aggressive success measurement is increasingly used by firms.
Online Media Rooms
This industry trend comes as a result of journalists who are frustrated by a number of things that have to do with websites. Many reporters and journalists are taking their research online, which brings a number of frustrations and problems with it. For example, companies may fail to post relevant or updated information on their websites, making it so the reporter has to dig for information. Flash sites, having to enter personal information and create accounts in order to access information, a lack of a company or organization's contact information, and having to download forms or other sources of information are bothersome for reporters and journalists. Online media rooms eliminate the need for this, so reporters are turning to these for sources of information. This is advantageous for the public relations professional as they can post their own information in the media room.
For more information about public relations and related topics, visit the following websites:
http://101publicrelations.com
www.publicrelationsideas.com
