PR Freedom

Press releases are great way for the public to get informed about topics and understand what is going on in the world. If you have a client or customer who needs some PR a press release is a great way to get information out about what they are doing. Now typically press releases are sent to media companies and the media gets to decided what actually makes it into the news. Press releases were written in a specific way that would make the story appealing to media. The PR person would obviously spin the story in the clients favor, but they’d make it look as close to a media story as possible. The journalist would then decide if the story should go public and if they felt it was good enough they’d write their own story after doing some research.

Recently, the way PR people go about press releases has changed drastically. In the story “Traditional Press Release- out- Online News Release IN” they talk about exactly how it has changed. PR people no longer need the media as much as they have in the past. Due to the creation of the internet and news sharing platforms. It is so easy for a PR person to upload a press release on the web and just have it go viral. Obviously the release still has to be professional and attention grabbing, but it no longer needs to go through the media. Of course PR people want a journalist to see this story and have them write their own stories for their papers. However, if they do not pick the story up the PR person has already posted it to several online sources.

This is a major change for PR people and while the media is still important to them they have almost obtained this freedom to just release their stories. Before the internet if the media did not pick up your press release no one would see it. This allows PR companies to just get the story out regardless. I think there is a plus and a minus to this because on one hand it’s great that PR companies get this freedom. However, it allows them to post stories that will obviously be one sided. People will just glance over it and assume that is the truth. The media has no opinion one way or the other so they will work hard to find the unbiased story. PR has a great new tool; however, it is one that may lead to some very biased stories.

https://www.inc.com/guides/2010/09/how-to-write-a-press-release.html

Click to access OnlineNewsReleaseIN.pdf

https://www.thechannelco.com/content/how-the-internet-has-changed-public-relations

SOCIAL MEDIA BACKFIRES

Social media can be a wonderful tool that is used to help many business advance their public image. It provides free publicity and allow companies and people to communicate with the public at large. That is an amazing way for a company to get the word out about a product or an update with a situation. With one post, tweet, or blog the entire world knows what the company wants them too. Social media allows this collaboration between the people. Journalists, and PR professionals. Journalists get the information they need quickly and the public does not have to wait for the news to get the update. PR people can just post and have quick updates for everyone. However, with this speed comes a problem because bad news can be spread just as fast as good news.

In the article “how to turn your social media crisis into a success” it talks about how quickly social media can turn on you. This is so evident in any form of social media we look at. One well-placed rumor can turn and entire company’s public image into a nightmare. It is so easy to manipulate people on the internet and most people will never bother checking the facts. They read the article online and just assume that it is the truth. Then they retweet or share the post and before noon the post can go viral. What this article and the others did a good job of showing was how to deal with these situation.

It is important to always keep onto of a situation because if you hide people will assume that the rumor is true. Responding the questions and constantly being on top of the situation is so key to dealing with a PR crisis. People will want answers and you look better just by providing them. Even if the answers are not the best spinning the situation in your favor is something every PR person is amazing at. Silence is the worst thing to do because in the people’s minds you are just scared to answer. Then the rumors get worse and worse until you have an uncontrollable situation. Communication is key in any given moment in PR because it shows the public you are open and they want openness. Social media can be a great tool but when it backfires it is important not to panic and to just deal with the situation head on.

https://www.earnedmediarising.com/?p=5425 https://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeremy-harris-lipschultz/realtime-social-media-cre_b_4102446.html

https://www.revechat.com/blog/7-negative-effects-social-media-may-business/