In the modern and ever-changing environment of communications, the water is muddled with the various specialisms becoming intertwined – particularly in the case of Public Relations (PR) and social media.
The Difference Between PR and Social Media
Traditionally, PR was generally more focussed on key stakeholders – but with the rise of social media, the stakeholders are presented, where these platforms can then be utilised for PR.
Whilst there are similarities, social media marketing is still different to PR.
PR audiences interact with the content differently – usually passively – whereas social media is more interactive and engaging.
Using both in tandem with each other can create an incredibly effective campaign.
Social Media Dependency
Social media has recently been used to make PR feel friendlier towards stakeholders, which has created a new form of marketing called “relationship marketing.”
This has helped companies to appear more approachable, reliable, and trustworthy.
Whilst you may not initially think so, Facebook is an incredibly useful tool for PR: when identifying your audiences, you can leverage the platform’s capabilities such as groups, mentions and call to action buttons for assistance.
The PR Perspective on Social Media
Similarly, Twitter can be utilised to send a quick punchy message about a new launch, activity, or exclusive promotion.
This tool is also useful as it allows you to research your own company as well as its competitors.
When it comes to making important connections, LinkedIn provides a platform for you to reach out to influencers to utilise in campaigns.
Contrastingly, Instagram is perfect for engaging with your audience using visuals to showcase worthy causes, promote events, and raise awareness of key topics.
What the Future Holds
It’s unquestionable that social media is here to stay and will only evolve further as more updates are introduced and a greater importance of using this tool is made clear.
To reap its benefits, PR must also evolve alongside it for the pair to truly work in harmony.