How 21st Century PR Pros Use Technology

The Public Relations community is ever-evolving, especially as it relates to technology. Technology has been a key component in our daily lives and no doubt has transitioned into the business world as well. Technology has completely shaped how we do business and provides many benefits to companies using the resources that are available to them. While technology improves the daily aspects of business, the most common advantage is the cost-benefit.
 Below we discuss a few technologies and how they have changed the face of PR forever.

Video
Facebook, Instagram Video,YouTube, and Snapchat are some of the most resourceful online tools that brands use to communicate their message, especially to younger audiences.  Millennials would rather watch a video rather than read a newsletter. Social media platforms like Instagram have acknowledged this and taken steps such as prioritizing video. Consequently, companies have had success presenting their brand through video, particularly by producing video news releases.
Thanks to evolving features like development of 360-degree videos, live streaming and virtual reality, video is here to stay and will only continue to become a more important tool in public relations. Companies use 360 videos so you can watch videos from whatever perspective you like.

Media monitoring
is about scanning the media for information about your brand, your industry or even your competitor.  Media monitoring is moving away from solely print media and has extended to online and social media. While essentially the same since its technological advancements: media monitoring has become more refined. What was once a job where you cut articles and paste them into scrapbooks has now been digitized. Algorithms and machine learning is used to gather and track brand mentions across the media.
Media monitoring allows companies to understand your target audience, which allows PR experts to better relate to and communicate with them.

Working with Influencers
A few years ago, this concept would have sounded strange to PR firms. But since the wide emergence of social media platforms, the concept of “influencer marketing” arose. Influencer marketing is a form of social media marketing that uses endorsements from “influencers”. This works because of the trust influencers have built up with their followers and their recommendations serve as poof of your brand’s potential. PR companies work closely with these influencers to improve brand awareness and reputation.

Crisis control
As technology evolves there is a greater risk of exposing your brand to threats. There is no longer the opportunity for companies to respond to a crisis in hours, now it must be swift and ideally- instantaneous. Brands need to constantly monitor and respond to crises as they arise. With the increase in technology, threats have become more sophisticated which means crisis management plans should be regularly assessed and updated periodically.  Responding to a crisis slowly may trigger outrage and negative impressions may be long lasting.

Research
In the past with PR, if you wanted to put together a media list or provide your client with sound advice about where and how an announcement should be made, you’d go to the library and do your research. Now, there are many ways to research at your fingertips. Research helps a PR firm to strategies.  Extensive research can help you identify your key audiences or determine the most cost-effective budget. With immediately accessible ways to research, you can provide your client with a more timely response and a better time frame for implementing your campaign,
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Finding gigs
Technology helps PR professionals to find more work. There are online platforms that connect PR freelancers with clients. Interviews can be done from anywhere. Traditionally this usually means you’d have to travel sometimes miles away for an interview, technology advances like video calls have made communicating more convenient.

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