Close those apps and put your iPhones down – lets talk about social media and PR

Social media pushes public relations practitioners to embrace the technology, and reap stronger stakeholder relationships.

We are living in the now generation and we have everything at the tip of our fingers – literally. And that’s the way we like it.

Thanks to social media – those sites you are all too familiar with, cough, know inside out – platforms where conversation is encouraged have been created. And successfully created at that, with 3.6 hours a day being spent on social networks.

And we are not ashamed, participating in these social networks everywhere we go.

On the train? Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, all open – standard .

Shopping? Instagram a change room #selfie – check ✔

Out for dinner? Check in on Facebook – done.

This social media revolution has pushed public relations (PR) practitioners to create a presence on these platforms.

And why not? If their publics are actively engaging in these platforms, it is only logical that PR practitioners should be in on the conversations too.

After all, publics are not only sharing content about themselves, they are also talking about your company, and using hashtags to share it to a wider amount of users.

PR practitioners have the ability to use these conversations and leverage the interaction to their advantage to create a successful relationship with publics and stakeholders.