CEO ID Africa, Femi Falodun was recently a guest on Hi-Impact’s Tea Or Coffee to give informed insights on ‘Digital Resources In Public Relations’ and its application to the business of brand management.
The Marketing Communications (Digital Media, Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations) industry is rapidly evolving across the world largely due to new technological inventions and advancements, and Femi encourages young professionals to constantly explore available resources to aid their work.
Here are five salient points Femi made during the insightful chat with Hi-Impact:
1. Public Relations is a form of marketing
- PR is simply a form of marketing which involves getting the public to have good relations with an individual or organisation. It’s the art of bridging the gap between a brand (person, company, government e.t.c) and the public (the people that matter to the brand or company or individual.
- Consultants’ job is to make those relationships smooth and easy, such that the public see the organisation in a good light.
- Part of the work that PR people do is crisis management (combat trolling, fake news, negative reviews and feedback).
2. Digital Resources have become an integral part of PR
- Digital Resources is a broad term that is mainly used to describe technology tools, platforms or resources that aid the work that communicators or marketers do. These tools and resources could be as simple as a mobile device, apps, software, or social media platforms.
- In the past, the only way you would reach an audience is through traditional media (newspaper, radio and TV) but technology (mobile phones, internet) has had blistering impact on how quickly information travels.
3. Technology has changed the dynamics of PR
- Technology resources have greatly influenced the approach to brand management, providing vast options in terms of engagement with the audience (public) as well as posing various challenges in dealing with negative feedback.
- Social media has given power to the consumers. There are no longer gatekeepers and people can now directly engage more with brands, whether positively or negatively. This has complicated the work for PR people.
- Digital resources may have made PR more complicated but have also helped in preempting, preventing and even studying what’s going on in the public.
4. Authenticity is a major way to manage challenges with digital tools as a Brand
- One major way to manage challenges with digital tools as a Brand lies in unflinching authenticity. How to contain it is to imbibe the culture of being authentic. People can always detect authenticity. Stick with what your brand represents and not just jump on trends without making sure that they fit.
- Allow professionals manage your public perception (image).
5. Young people interested in PR should seek internship and take professional courses
- Seek opportunities to intern with agencies or organisations that practice digital marketing, PR or advertising, depending on their area of interest.
- Go through a traditional school or professional education system e.g NIPR, PRCAN, CIM, CIPR (in the UK) and other global bodies that offer marketing training. These bodies offer the theoretical framework for the profession and the needed skills.
- Take online training with big digital communications companies like Facebook, Google; Some are free and some require payment.
- Spend time on social media using all the tools e.g if a new feature is released on Facebook, go ahead and experiment with it.
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by 208headlines