Many things about public relations have changed in the past ten years, but there are still some constants. The main objectives of PR hasn’t changed, but the methods certainly have.

So, what hasn’t changed about PR?

• The essential PR plan. No matter your objectives, planning is the first critical move that any PR team must make. Regardless of what tactics you choose and the methods in which you conduct your PR, a plan must first be in place to ensure that: everyone involved is on the same page; tactics are derived from strategies; target markets are understood; and budgets, implementation schedules, and responsibilities are determined.

• The need to connect. Though connecting with the public is done in a very different manner today than it was 15 years ago, the point of conducting PR is still the same: to create a connection with someone, the customer, potential buyers, etc. In the past, this was done through the media. Today, this can be primarily done through two-way communication initiated through press releases that everyone can read (not just the media), blogs/websites, and companies simply talking to the public.
• The necessity of the media. I know I just said that you don’t really need media to connect to the public anymore, but you still need to utilize what the media continues to do. While you can do all of your communicating to the public without the use of the media, it would still serve you well to pitch the media for coverage online and offline. This sort of coverage is still seen as valuable because consumers still watch the news, still read the newspaper, and use the Internet for a source of new.
• The value of a network. This can be a network online, a network of media contacts, or a network of companies in your industry. These networks will be indispensable, especially online. Social media is shaking up the PR world, and as a company looking for valuable PR it is important to connect with bloggers, influential users on the various social media networking sites, and other companies partaking in the online community.
• The crucial act of crisis management. PR will always be the best source of information for the public in light of a crisis. As we’ve seen in recent events (BP, Tiger Woods, etc.), the PR team really needs to be aware, present, and fast-moving to take care of a crisis and to address the situation at hand. If they fail to do so, the company, brand, or image can greatly suffer. In most cases, PR simply needs to diffuse a situation; in other cases, it needs to serve as the formal apology, acceptance of responsibility, and revelation of plans to remedy the situation. The difference today is that a company really has no excuse to not take advantage of the many ways they address a crisis, answer a customer complaint, and even remedy a situation immediately before a crisis begins. Many companies ignore that opportunity, or don’t see it as a necessity.

Things have definitely changed, and companies need to be more proactive in regards to the responsibility new opportunities present. Buyers expect a company to be responsible, accountable, and working for the good for all consumers, the community, and the planet. Technology has made things more transparent and customers know more than they’ve ever known. This makes it a necessity for companies to be more aware of their actions and the repercussions they can have, if not just to be a morally responsible company.

The consumption of media, and really the consumption of all information, has changed dramatically over the past 10 years. In a talk at the Newhouse School’s M.O.B. (“Monetizing Online Business”) Conference, Pew’s director Lee Rainie gave a presentation on the latest data and trends in regards to that change.

Here are some of the highlights:

1. There is one main change agent: the Internet. Some of the attributing factors include:
   - 79% of adults use the Internet (opposed to 46% in 2000).
   - 59% connect wirelessly (0% in 2000)
   - The Internet was slow, stationary, and relied on the connections built around the computer. Now, the Internet is faster, mobile, with connections built around outside servers and storage.
   - 62% (vs. 25% in 2000) use the Internet on an “average day”.
   - 82% own a cell phone (50% owned one in 2000).

2. 61% of adults (18 years of age and older) use the Internet as a new platform on a typical day. This is more than radio and local and national newspapers.
3. On a typical day, 59% of adults get their news online and from at least one offline source.
4. 37% of Internet users are contributors/disseminators of news, most often commenting on stories.
5. 30% of Internet users get news on a typical day through their social networking site use, and 13% follow news organizations and journalists on social networking sites.

There is much more to read on the presentation that Pew made available here, but these points share something important for PR teams and professionals: more and more people are willing to participate in the news that they are more actively seeking. You should be taking advantage of that change!

Get in touch with media online if you have a relevant, newsworthy story, share your news through your social networking site use, and more importantly, give Internet users the opportunity to get involved, to contribute to news, and to disseminate it for you. To that end, ensure, too, that it is easy for them to disseminate that news.

What do you think? Are these numbers smaller than you had expected? Higher? What does it mean for you in your profession?

In a recent post here, I mentioned my disbelief in the rising spending on advertising. To accompany my theory are some preliminary findings of the study I found on the Everything Technology Marketing blog. Here’s what they had to say about that study:

The LinkedIn B2B Technology Marketing Community is conducting a comprehensive, vendor neutral survey of B2B marketing executives and professionals to better understand the state of social media in the evolving B2B marketing mix. The survey will answer questions about the latest social media trends in B2B marketing, what challenges managers face, what platforms and tools are considered effective, how companies measure success, and more.

The early findings, which can be seen below, show that, indeed, companies are spending less time using advertising and more time using social media. Logically, then, it would seem that companies are spending less on advertising and more on social media.

What do you think? Does it make sense that advertising spending should be going down if companies are using less and less of it?

‘Strategies’ and ‘tactics’ are terms that are often used interchangeably, but they are two very different things. One is the way in which a competitive advantage is (attempted to be) gained, and the other is the competitive advantage. That makes the two things related in the sense that they are both part of the public relations planning process. A strategy is what will set your company apart or help your company or client to reach a goal and objective. For each strategy, there are tactics needed to accomplish that strategy.

Let’s start with some definitions:

Strategy: noun a : a careful plan or method : a clever stratagem b : the art of devising or employing plans or stratagems toward a goal. (Source)

Tactic: noun a device for accomplishing an end. (Source)

Those definitions help to show the differences between the two. One is the strategy or the art of creating a plan, while the other is the means with which that plan is executed.

When creating a PR plan, there are essential components (which can be found in the previous post) that include strategies and tactics. Having these components gives the plan a better chance of success and makes the plan more relevant and tailored for the company or client when these strategies and tactics are based on the company’s overall business objectives. To help ensure that success companies should create strategies corresponding with the company’s and PR plan’s objectives as well as tactics tailored for the intended/targeted audiences and media.

While strategies and tactics seem to be the same thing, they are not. Know that one requires the other, and vice versa. To take action and implement a tactic without knowing why wouldn’t be very helpful, and to create a strategy without acting upon it would be somewhat pointless.