New Role for PR People
I'll be blogging about this during the Global PR Blog Week 1.0, but here's a rough draft:
There is an entirely new role for PR people, which is to enable and create connections, to build communities. To broaden the audiences communicated with and encourage dialogue with them. To enable multi-way communications vs one-way (corporation/organization outwards). To use new communications tools like blogs, wikis, social networks etc. to help organizations gain credibility through conversation and interaction vs. from "expert" commentary. To wrench open the black box of communications so all can see and participate...
Stay tuned...more to come.
I just wonder sometimes how many of our clients are 'ready' for this brave new world.....
Posted by: david parmet | July 01, 2004 at 01:02 PM
I'd say very few David. But as an evangelist for this new world, I am trying very hard to convince them!
I am having the greatest success with associations, of which we represent three.
Posted by: Elizabeth Albrycht | July 01, 2004 at 01:35 PM
Associations are a smart place to start, they probably aren't quite as worried as saying too much, which is the objection several of my clients bring up when I discuss blogging with them.
I think that's probably the biggest hump for many companies. They so want to to control everything that's said about them and everything they say and do (CEO's looking over every release with a fine tooth comb for example) that the thought of freewheeling open coversation with their customers is terrifying.
I've been telling my clients that despite what they may think, server space is dirt cheap and it doesn't cost much in terms of time and money for your customers to talk about you on-line. Why not join in the conversation?
Posted by: david parmet | July 01, 2004 at 03:04 PM