How Technology is Changing Public Relations

Undoubtedly, technology plays a significant role in revolutionizing the public relations industry. Emerging companies all around the world consider it important to invest time, effort, and money in building and maintaining their public relations in a positive manner. Companies do many things to make sure that public relations are not compromised.

The image is the most expensive asset a company holds and a sensitive one too, as the negative impact on the image of the company could cost a great deal of loss. The way companies used to focus on improving their public relations has changed over the last two decades, the digital dominance has changed the way organizations used to portray their image and communicate with the world.

The digital presence of organizations plays an integral role in shaping public relations in a positive manner, as the reputation of a company is sensitive to what’s happening online. Go through the article to know the ways through which technology is changing public relations.

Availability of multiple tools to communicate

Back then when there were only limited options available to communicate with people in order to build and maintain public relations, it used to take much more effort than it requires now. The access to digital media platforms like Facebook, Gchat, phone calls, texting, emails, Snapchat, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Whatsapp, and many more have made it much more convenient to communicate with huge audiences in less time and effort.

Now what matters is how well a company can manage its social media activities and social engagement in order to strengthen brand image and build public relations. The technology has made it competitive as well for companies to get the spotlight in the industry, as all competing companies have access to almost the same tools to build Public relations.

Change in the dynamic of trust

As we are surrounded by technological ease all the time, there are multiple sources of information through which we get enlightened. The access to information, massive data, opinions of other people, access to several news channels have made people doubt the facts and reality. Hence, information from peers is still considered one of the most trusted sources of information in an organization.

Companies avail the benefit of technological ease and communicate with thousands of their customers through social media platforms without spending any significant amount of money. Sometimes, due to access to several sources of information people get confused and this works as a trust barrier between company and clients.

Wide range of options

A few years back, television and newspapers were used to be sources of information, companies, and politicians used to convey their message through these channels. Now things have changed, with the new tools and technologies, people are free to select what they want to hear. 

People are not bound to get their news from only one channel on Twitter, they are free to follow the news channel they prefer the best. They are facilitated with the option to subscribe to information about our interests and unsubscribe to what they find useful or relevant.

Monitoring social media

Monitoring the media has been considered one of the most crucial aspects of public relations, the way it gets done now has been changed completely due to technology. In the past, media monitoring meant having an eye on local and national press, mainly via radio programs, newspapers, and television news.

Today, the amount of data that needs to be monitored on the internet is big, that’s why many organizations rely on data science for their public and marketing relations. Media monitoring is now more about checking social media impressions. Press is still considered valuable, the crucial part is understanding what people are saying about the brand on social media platforms.

Investing in Research

It was never so easy to collect information as it is now, the way public relations research used to take place has changed completely. Back in time, people used to rely on long lists of press releases in newspapers and marketing agencies. As companies have started using big data, it has become much easier to get the required information.

Today, everything is at our fingertips, as Google is considered a great tool for companies to find almost any type of information. Journalists and agencies are also hired to secure the specific type of information not easily found through Google research.

Tracking performance result

The use of technology has enabled companies to track the performance of their campaigns, two decades back only newspapers were considered the best option to evaluate the results. The ease to keep a check on the performance and quick public response helps businesses to improvise and innovate their business process and activities. 

Search Engine Optimization, which is considered a fundamental aspect of Digital Marketing, has become a key tool for public relations. It enables companies to know how effective their efforts are towards promoting an idea, product, or service.

The quick digital response enables companies to bring changes to their marketing campaigns. Website traffic tracker and social media tools like TweetDeck are considered popular methods to track performance results. 

Conclusion

The importance of online reputation is undeniable in this digital era. Technology has not only changed the dynamics of public relations, but it also has enhanced the significance of the public relations industry as well. Now organizations focus on technology pr based research while starting a new project or bringing changes to existing ones.