How PR Pros Are Using Social Media for Real Results

How PR Pros Are Using Social Media for Real Results

I have been working in public relations for a long time. I studied public relations at university. My particular area of interest is social media and how it can be utilised by home-based businesses in order to grow their own business and find more customers.

The history of public relations relies a lot on one-way communication, basically through publicity. The company or their PR practitioner would write a message and then endeavour to get the mainstream media to spread their message. Social media has thrown PR on its head and it can only be of benefit to home-based business owners.

Here are the three main reasons that social media has changed PR for the benefit of those who work from home:

Companies can reach their audiences directly- The Internet and social media tools mean that companies can reach their audiences directly. Companies no longer need to rely on mainstream media and relationships to get their message out there (although developing relationships with audiences can still be useful.) You can reach your audience through a blog, through Facebook, through Twitter and through a variety of other Web 2.0 tools currently available and those that will become available in the future.

The Internet has facilitated a many-to-many conversation- In the past companies and their PR practitioners could effectively control the message. These days it is not so simple. Public relations has changed from a one to many communications platform to a many to many form of communication. Those same web 2.0 tools that allowed you to promote your home-based business to a wider audience also allow your clients and potential clients to continue to talk about you. You cannot lie or be deceitful in any way. You need to work at making sure you are always constantly at 110% and you should be okay.

There is no control, only crisis management- As I have mentioned, you can no longer control the message. You can put out your own message but there is nothing stopping your audience also talking about you and reaching a wide audience. You cannot control the message but you can manage your response to ensure that there is no crisis. Don’t let the message get beyond you.

Web 2.0 and Social Media have changed public relations and this can only be of benefit to home-based businesses. You no longer need to compete with the big marketing budgets of larger companies. You can utilise online tools and have as much coverage as they do.

Please check our Social Media Pricing, Reputation Management Pricing andSocial Media A La Carte Pricing to choose the right social media strategy for your profile or business.