Written by: Anna Sauceda Did you know that on average there are more than 1.9 billion Facebook monthly users? According to Social Media Today, that is over half of the social media users comprised on Facebook alone in 2017. Instagram has 600 million monthly users while Twitter trails behind with a solid 312 million. That is a lot of people posting their life stories on Facebook and liking cat memes on Instagram. But social media does not always have to have a stigma attached to it. Sure, it is known to host ceaseless, political internet wars and a vast amount of hashtags, but it holds far greater value. Before social media was introduced in the early 2000s (Myspace being one of the first in 2003), the field of Public Relations was known to be a "one way street." Those in PR were only able to present their message to the public with no room for commentary; how exactly was the public supposed to give their opinions or even respond, through snail mail? The game changer The lack of communication between those in the field and the consumers strained the effectiveness of any PR campaign. There was not a clear understanding of the needs of the consumer, thus there was an absence of value. This is where our handy dandy Twitter account really gets to shine. The disconnect with consumers was no longer a significant issue. These online platforms have allowed conversations to blossom and feedback is more accessible to those in PR. Anyone can interact with big named brands/companies within seconds in 140 characters or less; go ahead, tell them how you really feel. This brings the value factor back by allowing the PR practitioners to cater to what the audience ultimately wants and needs. Now, with communication comes the responsibility of keeping interest. How do you get the masses to want to come back for more? Keeping the interest of the public is important in PR. Whether it’s through posting a picture with a witty comment on Instagram or a 5 minute video on YouTube, tailoring it to the interest of your audience is essential Another perk of social media is with a simple post or tweet, responses to breaking headlines are made available within seconds. Essentially, “damage control” made easier. Social Media/Technology Social media and technology is constantly evolving. The changes arise from companies striving to give the public the best and newest version of technology available. Social media platforms are always seeking to better their applications to stay current with the competition. For example, Instagram added the story feature and more filters to keep up with one of its biggest competitors, Snapchat. Twitter has even considered expanding its 140 characters limit to 280 characters due to users complaining of the limited structure. The release of the iPhone X is nearing and there is great speculation on its appearance (Zach Epstein, @zacharye). It seems that Apple listened to what the people wanted most likely through the use of social media; which is where most have expressed either excitement or their discord. Stay on top of the latest For anyone interested in the PR field, it is crucial to always be aware of the latest trends in social media. Research and the desire to learn are the key. Watching the news and doing extensive research (trusty Google) on the latest innovations will only be beneficial to you and your career. PR is ever-changing and always adapting to what is current, so you have to too. A great place to see any significant breakthroughs is usually on the discover pages of these platforms: Instagram, twitter, facebook and snapchat each have one. You can typically find trends and current news headlines there. Also, the official websites of tech companies usually have updates on their latest products or future endeavors. “If it’s not broke don’t fix it” Despite certain changes PR has made with the use of social media, communicating (face-to-face) and the ability to relay your ideas to others, efficiently and clearly, will always be necessary. Social media is there to help facilitate your job, not there to do it. Be creative and come up with new, fresh ideas that have never been seen before. Use social media as a tool to bring your vision to life. And remember that you are potentially competing against others, so be unique in order to standout. Many may still find social media to be the curse that has overtaken the lives of millennials. But ultimately it is free and can be highly effective if used properly, especially in a field focused on relevancy and social interaction. What are your thoughts on the close knit relationship between social media and Public Relations? Do you think it holds a positive or negative relationship? Resources: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-networks/top-social-network-demographics-2017-infographic
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Written by: Erica Jackson As I sat down and thought about what to write a blog post on for the UAB PRCA/PRSSA site, I, of course, started with a google search. Many great options came up and I’ve drafted a few of them but then this one appeared and it felt like a great way to start the semester. Welcome back to school, everyone. I hope you had as restful a summer as you could and you are rested and ready to take on another semester. Some of you, reading this post, are just beginning your pr studies at UAB and you have such a fun journey to embark one. Others, like myself, have done their PR course studies and are finishing up and hoping to graduate soon. So, when this post idea popped up, it seemed like the natural way to get this blog series going. What caused me to choose pr as my focus of study at UAB? This is not a quick answer but instead one that actually came from years of doing different things that interested me and finding out that they all tie back into this field. Here is a brief taste of the journey that led me to where I am right now. I participated in journalism during my high school career with hopes to work as one someday but as I grew older and the papers all closed down or lessened their publishing amounts, I grew wary of the possibility of a career. This was a huge hit to my potential career path but I continued on as an undeclared college student when my parents though I might have what it takes for Nursing School. We don’t need to get into the details regarding this attempt but the short version is that Nursing was not a field for me. As I wandered down this path and tried to figure out what I wanted to do when I grew up, I realized that my biggest interests involved movies, TV, music, celebrities and the overall entertainment industry. The rise of social media in my years after high school graduation only increased my interest in this world. I did not aspire to be on the screens or inside the radio but the person who helps those people do what they do and maybe someday write the scripts they read. I began to look into the careers of publicists and others like that when fate stepped in to take the reins on my future. I mentioned above that the movie/TV world is close to my heart and among that industry lies my real passion, terrible shark movies. Jaws will always be the only shark movie that matters but sometimes one just done terribly enough to be amazing comes along. In 2013, that magic happened in the form of a well known SyFy film titled Sharknado. This movie was the epitome of terrible done well and it is soon to be a cult classic if it isn’t already. My story really starts here in the moments of live tweeting my first viewing of this film. As I watched, I chose my favorite character (something I always do) and that person was Baz, played by Jaason Simmons. During the film, I sent a tweet to the actor regarding how much I loved his character and he responded. That one tweet launched a relationship I have with this actor. We now have each other’s phone numbers and communicate regularly but it all began because he noticed that my tweets involved petitioning for his character to come back for the second film and he reached out to me to help him run some fan sites along with a campaign to ‘Bring Back Baz’. This is where my true passion for PR began and I loved running the Facebook posts and Tweets for this mission and in the end, he was offered the role but scheduling conflicts caused him to decline. What matters most in this story is that Jaason Simmons and Sharknado led me to my future as silly as that may sound. After running that campaign in conjunction with my earlier research, pr was my obvious choice for my future. The classes at UAB have only increased my excitement regarding my future along with broadening my scope of jobs that are available to those in our field. A pr degree can take you anywhere and as Dr. Shaia taught me, take your classes as a chance to learn but also as an opportunity to make connections and soak up everything you can like a sponge. Public relations is a field that can take you almost anywhere in the world or job force and it’s exciting to think about. So fellow members or future members of UAB PRCA/PRSSA, what was your moment that made you decide pr was the job for you? |