PR’s Changing Landscape: Social Media, Influencers and Experiential Marketing

When you think about public relations, what’s the first thing that pops into your mind? Press releases? Coverage on the nightly news? Placement in the local paper?

Although traditional media are still relevant, PR is about more than news coverage and press conferences. It’s about helping you relate to your audience, wherever they are—even online or on site.

In this three-part series, we’ll be taking a closer look at the latest trends in three critical arenas for reaching today’s audiences—social media, influencers and experiential marketing. Up first, social media…

Social Media: Making Your Mark

There’s a story I liked to tell my PR students when I was teaching at Villanova... in college I drove a Jeep. Not because I had any plans to go off roading. I drove a Jeep because it helped me project the image I wanted: fun, adventurous, sporty.

Your social media accounts are sort of like your brand’s Jeep—or your BMW, your Subaru… even your trusty minivan. What you choose to drive—and how, when and where you drive it—all depend on the brand image you’re trying to shape.

Gone are the days when Facebook was the only game in town. Today, there are options like Instagram, TikTok and Clubhouse to choose from. While Facebook and YouTube may have the greatest overall number of users, that doesn’t mean that’s where your right-fit audience is easy to reach. Demographics can vary widely from one platform to another. (Check out Social Media Use in 2021 by the Pew Research Center for an idea of who’s where.)

Sometimes one platform works better than another, depending on a brand’s personality. For example, a creative brand with lots of great visuals might opt for Instagram, which gives them a great platform to showcase their personality and connect with their people. Meanwhile, an organization with regularly breaking news might focus on Twitter, where 59% percent of the platform’s users turn to it as a news source according to a 2020 study by the Pew Research Center.

Despite the growing number of outlets for reaching your audience, you don’t have to be on every available platform. (Unless of course, being big is part of your brand.) For most businesses, you’re eventually going to hit a diminishing return on your time investment—and you need time to focus on your business after all!

The sheer number of options can feel overwhelming. At Powers, our pros help clients identify the best platform for them, define the image they want to project, and craft a plan to bring it to life.

Are you ready to own your brand’s social media image? Let’s talk.

—Vince