1. DPMR 03025
New Media for Public Relations
Tharanga Ranasinghe
Aassistant Librarian
University of Kelaniya
4/7/2013
2. Contents
• Public Relations (PR) defined
• Three phases of PR
• PR tasks
• PR and traditional media
• PR & new media
• Social Media (SM)
• Using SM in PR
• Advantages of using SM for PR
• Problems in using SM for PR
• SM related PR Disasters
3. Public Relations (PR) defined…
• Public relations is the activities and attitudes
intended to analyze, adjust to, influence, and
direct the opinion of any group or groups of
persons in the interest of any individual,
group, or institution.
- Richard Weiner, Dictionary of Media and
Communications (1990)
4. Public Relations (PR) defined…
• Public relations is a distinctive management
function which helps establish and maintain
mutual lines of communication,
understanding, acceptance, and cooperation
between an organization and its publics.
- Dr. Rex Harlow. Foundation for Public
Relations Research and Education
5. Public Relations (PR) defined…
“Public Relations helps and Organization and its
publics adapt mutually each other”
- Public Relations Society of America
6. Goals of PR
• create, maintain, and protect the organization's
reputation
• enhance its prestige
• present a favorable image
• create good will for the organization
7. Three Phases of PR
• Publicity phase of PR
• Explanatory phase of PR
• Mutual satisfaction phase of PR
8. mutual satisfaction phase
• Practitioners in the mutual satisfaction phase see
public relations as:
– two-way interaction between an organization and its
publics;
– something done with someone rather than something
done to them;
– negotiation, compromise, and mutual accommodation;
– communicating in a variety of ways that range from one-
on-one interpersonal conversations to dealing with mass
audiences via the major media; and
– applying circuit and/or transactional theories of
communication
9. PR Tasks
• PR officers use a wide range of media to build
and sustain good relationships between the
employing organisation and its clients through
planned publicity campaigns and PR activities.
• PR executives are responsible for handling all
aspects of planned publicity campaigns and PR
activities during periods of crisis.
- PR Officer job Description [targetjobs.co.uk]
10. PR Tasks
• planning, developing and implementing PR strategies;
• liaising with colleagues and key spokespeople;
• liaising with and answering enquiries from media, individuals and other
organisations, often via telephone and email;
• researching, writing and distributing press releases to targeted media;
• collating and analysing media coverage;
• writing and editing in-house magazines, case studies, speeches, articles
and annual reports;
• preparing and supervising the production of publicity
brochures, handouts, direct mail leaflets, promotional
videos, photographs, films and multimedia programs;
11. PR Tasks
• devising and coordinating photo opportunities;
• organising events including press conferences, exhibitions, open days and
press tours;
• maintaining and updating information on the organisation's website;
• sourcing and managing speaking and sponsorship opportunities;
• commissioning market research;
• fostering community relations through events such as open days and
through involvement in community initiatives;
• managing the PR aspect of a potential crisis situation
-PR Officer Job Description/ Prospects: The UK Official graduate careers
website
12. PR with Traditional Media (TM)
• Newspapers • Press releases
• Magazines • Press/ media kit
• Brochures • Trade shows
• TV • etc.
• Radio
13. Disadvantages of TM in PR
• Slow dissemination of information
• Less feedback (one way top-down communication)
• Centralized / highly controlled
• Less transparent
• Expensive
• Limited Audience
• Out-dated information
• Time consuming (organizing events, etc.)
14. PR & New Media
• ‘New Media’ is a term that describes the emergence of digital,
computerised, interactive communication technologies.
• i.e. Internet, Websites, Chat rooms, e-mail, Social media, etc.
• New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the
latter part of the 20th century
• It refers to on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on
any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative
participation and community formation around the media content
• Interactivity is a key aspect of many new media tools
15. PR & New Media
• PR changed when Internet came into play
• More and more people getting online, NOW
• Having your online presence is important
• More than 70% of Internet population uses SM
16. Social Media
• A subset of new media which encourages
interactivity via comments or conversation
• Social media are defined as “any tool or service
that uses the Internet to facilitate conversations”
• Any online technology or practice that people use
to share content, opinions, insights, experiences,
perspectives and media
18. Opportunities in Social Media
• Knowledge Sharing (i.e. blogs, Wikis)
• Life Sharing (i.e. YouTube, Flicker)
• Social Networking (i.e. Facebook, MySpace)
• Business Networking (i.e. LinkedIn)
• Community Building (i.e. Ning)
19. Where our stakeholders are?
• Consumers have SM presence
• Media & journalists have SM presence
• Companies have SM presence
22. Where Companies are?
• use of SM by companies continues to increase
• 99% of the companies on the Fortune 500 list
have some sort of social media presence
• study of Fortune 500 companies found that
the use of Twitter increased 11% since 2011 to
73% adoption
• Facebook increased 8% to 66% adoption
• Also, found that in 2012, 28% had blogs, 62%
were using YouTube, and 2% were using
Pinterest.
23. “We don’t have a choice on whether
we do social media, the question is
how well we do it”
- Eric Qualman
25. Advantages of Using SM for PR
• Expedite circulation of information
• Reaching broader audiences
• Enable to reach people directly
• Building connections with public
• Reach out and engage public in conversation
• Feedback possible
• Source for breaking news & stories
• Strengthen media relations
• Save company’s money
• Easy access, update, and shared workload
• Reduces brokers & middlemen
26. Problems in Using SM for PR
• Lack of control
• Misuse
• Misunderstandings
• Selecting proper SM tool
• Managing different tools, networks &
platforms
• Never-ending task
• Not the only solution
27. When to apply SM4PR?
The social sweet spot: the intersection of your audience, your content and
your team’s strengths
28. PR Disasters (Crisis)
• PR disaster all comes down to an event(s) that creates lots of
negative stories and comments in newspapers, radio, TV and on the
Web, which are bad for the reputation
• PR disaster is much broader than a 'business disruption‘
• Individuals, companies, governments or countries can experience
PR disasters
• PR disasters can crop up from almost any facet (natural
disasters, business operations, legalities, rumours) of business or
private life
• Especially, social media are tend to PR disasters
29. SM related PR Disasters
Some Examples
• KitchenAid
• American Apparel
• American Rifle Association
• McDonald’s
30. How to avoid SM related PR disasters?
• Be honest in your online communications and
activities
• Hire the right people to help you
• Create guidelines for your social media team
• Monitor your online reputation continually
31. References
• Solis, B. (2008, April 28). PR 2.0: Putting the
public back in public relations. @BriansSolis, Blog
post. Retrieved from <http://www.
briansolis.com/2008/04/pr-20-putting-public-
back-in-public/>
• Waddel, K. (2010, February 26). Public relations
NY becomes social. Your Story. Retrieved from
http://www.your-story.org/publicrelations-ny-
becomes-social-121788/>
In the 1950s organizations asked their public relations consulting firms, "How should we say this?" In the socially turbulent 1960s and 1970s, faced with various confrontations, these same organizations asked their public relations people, "What should we say?" Today they ask, "What should we do?" The field's earliest manifestations have been called the publicity phase of public relations. During this stage of development practitioners were primarily concerned with creating awareness and building recognition for the individual or organization employing public relations. It was/is closely tied to advertising and promotion, and getting "the message" out to the widest possible audiences was/is paramount. As practitioners evolved into the explanatory phase of public relations greater emphasis was placed on providing more complete information and having the organization clearly articulate the reasons for its actions and policies so its publics would understand, sympathize with, and patronize the organization. Simply getting the organization's message out wasn't enough. Receivers had to understand and accept the point of view of the sending organization. Now, in the mutual satisfaction phase of public relations practitioners encourage organizations and their publics to adapt to one another by making complementary adjustments or compromises so that both benefit from their relationship. Practitioners are now as concerned with in-coming messages and information they can use to counsel management on current public opinion as they are with developing and delivering outgoing messages. The first phase of public relations was the publicity phase of public relations. Historians say the first phase was associated with promoting organizations and advertising organizations. Some would use negatives, seeing the advertising of such companies as being negative for the audience. Early public relations practitioners were all about getting the message out to the audience. The second phase of public relations was considered the explanatory phase of pubic relations. The explanatory phase of public relations dealt with the specifics of an organization’s message; using great detail to gain the support of the audience was the idea of the explanatory phase. The explanatory phase also included organizations and the statement of certain actions by an organization to give the audience members the knowledge to judge or support an organization. The third and current phase of public relations is the mutual satisfaction phase of public relations. The mutual satisfaction phase of public relations talks about the actions of a public relations practitioner in helping both sides, which includes the public and the organization. This phase talks about making compromises between the two sides so both are can be “satisfied”.
Circuit Theory: Key terms - networking, going with the flow, making connections Emphases: Feedback over response Relationship over content Process over purpose Understanding over complianceThe transactional model is a more realistic representation of human communication. It recognizes that both people involved in the interaction are communicators, and instead of the process illustrated as linear, it becomes circular in its function. Thus the process is an exchange. The two people engaged constantly respond to each other by initiating messages and sending responses back and forth (DeFleur, 2005).
Public Relations Tools – PRPosted by Drypenon May 2, 2008PRINT MEDIAMost of the efforts chapters make in public relations are through forms of print media, primarily newspapers. These are usually the most visible outlets on college campuses, especially school newspapers, and in the local community.PRESS RELEASEThe press release is the most common material provided to media outlets. These documents provide a brief, yet thorough, description of an upcoming activity, whether it is rush or a service project.PHOTOGRAPHSThere are usually two types of photographs in publicity portrait shots, where people pose for the camera and smile, and candids, where the subjects are doing something.CASES HISTORIES/ STUDIESCase studies which show a good image of the company are shared with the media/ investors, community etc. Books on Making of Asoka, Making of Lagaan, Amitabh Bacchan- A book by Jaya Bachchan EDITORIALS No money, high credibility, however no control over message.ADVERTORIALS Advertisement + Editorial.Control over message, pay lesser than an advertisement. It is a strategic tool, but should not be used too often.INTERVIEWS/FEATURES Meeting journalists.Here there is lot of room for different interpretations. More often than not, press releases will not be printed verbatim. Even though your media contact will likely rewrite them, possibly including additional quotes or information they research on their own your press releases should be written well enough. However, there are also times that a press release will encourage a reporter to do more, such as conduct a full interview with chapter members or write a feature article on an upcoming project. While doing sponsorships one should try to brand it with the event simultaneously.BROCHUREA booklet published by the organization which contains the organisations background, its ethics, vision, mission, its past, present and future projects, its USP, etc.Eg: brochure given to new employees to give them a gist of the organisation.POSTER AND CALENDARAny poster or calendar used to achieve a public relations objective.WRITTEN SPEECHThe typewritten or printed text of a speech given to achieve a public relations objective.INTERNAL NEWSLETTERS AND PUBLICATIONSICICI has their internal Newsletters, in which information about the company, its profits, employees etc. is given.EVENT AND PRESS SUPPORSpecial events are acts of news development. The ingredients are time, place, people, activities, drama, showmanship; one special event may have many subsidiary events, such as luncheons, banquets, contests, speeches, and many others as part of the build up.LETTERS TO THE EDITORSubmitting these articles does not require a media contact. This also gives an opportunity for any member to submit a letter on their chapter for printing in a local or campus newspaper.ANALYSTS BRIEFOne tells about the company, what the company is doing. It is done to influence the stock buyers, analysts, employees and media.CORPORATE ADVERTISINGIf you believe the image of the company is good i.e. that trustworthy, reliable one, then you can use that as a PR tool. E.X.Aditya Birla Group, Om Kotak Mahindra ad.CONFERENCES AND SEMINARSOm Kotak doing many seminars. It contacts associations and tells them to give numbers of their members so that they can talk to them. The members are contacted through telephones and asked to attend seminar on General Insurance. In the seminar they talk on General Insurance for 20 minutes and then the next 10 minutes they talk about the company products.Pharma Companies when they do any research say for example, diabetic research, they would launch the product and before or after the launch they would call doctors for a conference to discuss about the researchINTERNET:This one medium has helped transform the whole business of marketing and public relations. In a way, it gives any organization the ability to promote themselves without having to rely solely on other media outlets. Websites and e-mail are the two most common methods to use the Internet for PR purposes.WEBSITEA chapter website should not only be designed to serve as a resource for members, but it should also present a positive message to nonmembers just “browsing through. Brief descriptions of chapter history, past projects and activities, and long-standing relationships with other organizations may give an outsider a positive impression of the fraternity. Like the newsletter, information for members shouldn’t just inform, it should also encourage involvement and develop enthusiasm.E-MAILToday, this has become the most common method used for communication between fraternity members. It can also be used to promote a chapter to fellow students and others, but it should be used carefully.AUDIO AND VISUAL:This division includes any audio or audio/visual presentation or program which serves a ublic Relations objective. Audio presentation. Any sound-only program, including telephone hot lines and other recorded messages, radio programs, public service announcements and audio news releases.Audio/Visual Presentation. Any internal or external audio-visual presentation using still illustrations, with or without sound, using one or more projectors. Film Or Video. Any film or video which presents information to an organization’s internal audiences.NEWS AND PUBLICITY:News is something that interests many people today. From the point of view of THE TIMES OF INDIA, that means the national readers of THE TIMES OF INDIA and the metropolis readers of THE BOMBAY TIMES, etc. From the point of view of THE INDIAN EXPRESS, it means all the people interested in hardcore content and no masala.Every medium has a news standard of its own, and that is the criterion the publicist goes by in attempting to address publicity to the public through that medium;SPECIAL EVENTS:Special events are acts or news development. The ingredients are time, place, people, activities, drama, and showmanship. One special event may have many subsidiary events, such as luncheons, banquets, contests, speeches, and many others, as part of the build-up. The special event is the coup de maitre of publicity, propaganda, and public relations.
Twitter - To tweet like a bird, frivolous,meaningless rapid speech.to utter successive chirping noisesORto talk in a chattering fashion Tweet = The chirp of a small or young bird.
SinaWeibo (Chinese: 新浪微博; pinyin: XīnlàngWēibó; literally "New-wave Microblog") is a Chinesemicroblogging (weibo) website. Akin to a hybrid of Twitter and Facebook, it is one of the most popular sites in China, in use by well over 30% of Internet users, with
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies incur.[1] The list includes publicly and privately held companies for which revenues are publicly available. The first Fortune 500 list was published in 1955. Pinterest is a pinboard-style photo sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests, hobbies, and more.
Erik Qualman is an American author of Socialnomics, Digital Leader and Crisis. He is also an international keynote speaker speaking on Gen Y motivation, digital leadership, digital media and future trends. In 2010, Socialnomics was a Book of the Year finalist as voted on by the American Marketing Association.[1]