151 - The impact of social media on public relations

Nata PR School (EN)

The impact of social media on public relations

The world of public relations has undergone significant changes since the emergence of social media.

There is material for several podcasts on this subject, and I already address some aspects in episode 149. Here, I continue my reflection with you on the impact of social media on public relations.

With the rising popularity of Instagram, businesses increasingly turned to influencers to promote themselves and their products, leading to significant changes in public relations.

Several agencies even removed the term "public relations" from their company name and description, transitioning from YZ Public Relations agency to YZ Communication or YZ Marketing.

I remember my partner and I extensively discussed this: should we change our name? But something told me that "public relations" is part of well-known professions, just like lawyers, notaries, or advertising agencies. There is a certain permanence in disciplines or categories that are deeply ingrained in our collective subconscious. When you search on Google, "public relations agency" still appears prominently (over 70 million results in French and nearly 2 trillion entries for "Public Relations")!

The future has proven us right in retaining the "PR" term associated with NATA. NATA PR, a public relations firm or agency, is what we still are while evolving and integrating social media and influencer work into our services.

We specialize in the so-called "organic" visibility that algorithms favour, meaning articles published online without monetary exchange.

For me, social media still represents additional opportunities for communication and connection, especially with potential clients of the brands we collaborate with.

The public relations industry has indeed undergone significant changes in recent years in terms of new technologies, media channels, and new communication opportunities with clients and businesses.

However, this poses a massive challenge for our clients in effectively managing these new forms of engagement.

Many are now realizing the growing importance of public relations in reaching a portion of their customer base that is not constantly present on social media.

The proliferation of platforms continues, and we are currently witnessing the emergence of Threads, directly competing with Twitter. But throughout all these years, from the introduction of fax machines to the first personal computer (yes, that small beige box...), I have come to realize four things:

1. Nothing replaces face-to-face interactions, human encounters, and, of course, meetings with journalists and influencers.

2. Even if you are highly active on social media, it only represents a portion of your target audience.

3. After the pandemic, brands believed that online sales were the new panacea, yet customers are returning to physical stores today.

4. Social media is like fashion. Each new generation gives rise to its own platform.

Indeed, it is always fascinating to see how humans use these new tools.

And what is your current favourite social media platform?

I hope you enjoyed this little PR break. Don't hesitate to leave us a comment.

Would you like to continue the discussion? Feel free to reach out to me. If you haven't already, you can sign up for our mailing list through our website at www.natapr.com or download our free template that outlines the six steps of a public relations or social media campaign.

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