Some Effects of Social Media on PR

The responsibilities for implementing, overseeing and running a companies or organizations social media strategy or set-up are usually assigned to the public relations or marketing departments. One recent study estimated that public relations or marketing departments control about 90 percent of corporate social media platforms with the other ten percent consisting of a department specifically created for social media. Whenever a company or organization makes an official statement of any sort, the public relations staff is usually involved and that’s a big aspect of the overall plan of action. Even in instances where a marketing or new media department generally oversees social media platforms, the public relations staff is involved in some way, shape or form. After all, any message sent across a social medium platform can be interpreted as an official statement.

It wasn’t imperative for public relations professionals to know much about social media ten or even five years ago, let alone be involved in the planning or dissemination of a social media platform initiative. Only recently have public relations professionals been forced to monitor social media platforms for mentions or hits just as they would if their company was mentioned in the New York Times, Time Magazine or on CNN. As similarly to as when e-mailing a press release became an accepted and commonplace practice, a paradigm shift has occurred for public relations professionals with social media. But unlike the shift to e-mailing press releases, the social media phenomenon that has come about in the last few years is multifaceted to the “nth” degree.

In addition to monitoring the various social media platforms for company or organizational mentions and hits, it is just as imperative for a company or organization to be involved in the social media universe. Being directly involved with a Facebook page or a Twitter account presents the ability for a company or organization to have control of all of the benefits that are available in the social media universe. Even in instances where a marketing or new media department oversees or controls the social media platforms, public relations professionals can still use social media to their benefit and growth of the product they are promoting.

While there are many benefits in the social media universe, there are always disadvantages or consequences that public relations professionals must be aware of. These are just the general effects of social media on the public relations industry. The rest of this exploration on the effects that social media has on public relations will investigate the advantages and drawbacks that public relations professionals face everyday in the social media universe. Understanding the general effects of social media is not enough for public relations professionals because a proverbial star-chart of the advantages and drawbacks of the social media universe is needed to stay on course for today’s public relations expedition.