Don't Call it a Comeback
Invigorated by social media, PR evolves with the times
Based on the proliferation of articles touting the resurgence of public relations as an effective and, almost as critical, efficient component of the marketing mix, some authors would have you believe it is tantamount to seeing Billy Ray Cyrus popping up on TV screens everywhere (courtesy of his daughter!) after a decade-long hiatus from public view.
In reality, smart marketers never lost sight of the value of public relations. To the astute, PR was not simply a budget line item to be easily deleted with the stroke of a pen. However, there is a case to be made that new life has been breathed into a profession that, while never just a one-hit wonder, may have become a little too set in its ways.
Perhaps the entry of social media into mainstream America over the last few years has indirectly helped the case of PR as corporate use of outlets such as MySpace, Facebook and Twitter are simply providing a more direct means of building awareness and influencing public opinion.
The blurring of what used to be more structured, well-defined parameters of public relations bodes well for its future. Like any evolving industry, the PR practice needed to expand its traditional roots or risk becoming irrelevant in the new media world.
Whatever the reason, PR practitioners like myself welcome back those who left this branch of marketing for the sake of the budget years ago only to, ironically, return to it for essentially the same reason during a recession. Since you left, it’s been given a makeover while becoming a solid cornerstone for the future of marketing in a social media focused environment.
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