Has old school PR had its day?

But the days of hastily flicking through newspaper pages in pursuit of coverage, then dusting the ink off our fingers and pasting it into the press cuttings book has become a thing of the past. Today our digits are more used to rapid scrolling, and with a few keywords and search terms, it’s easy to locate what’s been said, and where.

Over the last 30 years, the PR industry has changed immeasurably. Ok so we’re still looking for the same result; to see our words, thoughts or opinions published and read by those most likely to buy the product or service we’re tasked with promoting. But we’re also clicking and flicking from platform to platform to see who has shared, re-posted or commented. And all of this is likely to be linked to a website giving more opportunities for what has become interconnected content to be found and read online.

The advent of social media has given us the opportunity to be our own publishing houses. Where PR once stood alone as a distinct discipline within the wonderfully wide-ranging world of marcomms, it’s now open to anyone within an organisation and no longer just the realm of the appointed PR.

Direction is of course key here. Staff need to be educated as to what to say about a brand and encouraged and directed in the right way. There’s also the potential now to harness the relationship with the customer, taking their experiences and turning it into a story and tapping into their readers or followers as they are known.

We’ve experience of this with De’Longhi Range Cookers. Our ‘real kitchens’ case studies sit within the company’s website and the featured customers have the opportunity to share their piece on Instagram and Facebook etc.

Press releases are still important of course, they are after all, an all-encompassing story that sets out to say it all and are particularly useful when there’s genuine news to announce. Take our Artificial Reef story for our Muscat-based client, Al Mouj Muscat.

Anyone with an interest in Oman now knows that thanks to our client’s commitment to sustainability and the environment, its installation of an artificial reef led to a huge increase in the number of fish species choosing to call this particular part of the Sea of Oman home.

But where there’s a press release, there has to be a social media post too. Just as the PR no longer works alone, so the news story is no longer a stand-alone piece. The PR must draft bite sized nuggets of information; punchy little pieces that echo the message but are small enough to be read within a matter of seconds on a social media channel.

It’s simply a matter of connection.