Technology is changing every facet of business management, and the PR department is not immune. Many factors are contributing to the changing face of public relations in the digital age, and emerging technologies continue to cause disruption. While there are negatives to some of the more cutting-edge tech solutions, those being adopted by forward-thinking PR teams are proving to be invaluable.
From controlling the speed of communications to ensuring that in-house morale is brand consistent, using the right tech in the PR department is increasingly vital. Here are the technologies changing the processes and the effectiveness of PR management, and what your PR teams should be looking at if they hope to keep up with the competition.
Big Data
If you don’t track the effectiveness of your latest PR campaign then you’ll never know if it was effective or not. Data has been called ‘the new oil’ for businesses, but PR teams are still underusing the technologies required to gather and analyze massive datasets and glean valuable insights. From sentiment analysis to analyzing industry-relevant trends in real-time, your PR team needs to start looking more closely at how big data is changing the public relations field.
Employee satisfaction
Unhappy team members are not good for business. It’s vital that employees are satisfied with their workload and workspace, and positive team morale is more than simply good for productivity. It is also a valuable PR asset. Aligning team morale and your brand can be valuable sources of PR material, which means that PR teams need to look inward as much as outward in their daily workflow. PR teams need to practice the use of a regular employee satisfaction survey so that they can keep aware of any potential issues in the workplace that could result in a PR disaster.
The video revolution
Brand communication is all about establishing trust with your audience. Lose that trust and you lose customers. Text-based content is always going to be valuable, but video communications are becoming increasingly vital for brand messages. Consumer trends are seeing video being viewed more often, and Google’s ‘position zero’ is often a video answer to a search query. From the latest industry catch-up from the CEO to user-created video content posted on social media by customers, video is fast becoming an essential component of PR management.
The changing face of emails
Email marketing is more important than ever, and a customer’s inbox is one of the most valuable forms of real estate for a PR team. While there are many technologies and trends that can improve your email delivery, it’s important not to overlook the changing ways that consumers are viewing those emails. Now, an email is more likely to be opened on a smartphone or tablet than a PC, so how your emails look on a smaller screen is of very real importance. Additionally, the use of chatbots that can send an automatic email after customer queries based on that query and the data that the chatbot can collect, can be incredibly profitable. They will be delivering personalized communications that only increase the chances of making a sale and creating a more brand loyal customer.
If your PR team is still doing manual tasks that can be automated, or are only looking outward in terms of their branding, then mistakes are being made. Those mistakes could cost you productivity and growth. Keep up to date with the changing face of PR and its aligned technologies and your business will be stronger than ever.
