The previous decade has seen a massive integration of communication services with technology. Paired with the social media boom, corporations and businesses have gained access to gigabytes of data per person. All these data have serious implications from a publicist’s standpoint. Moving on from days when the primary source of communicating with a media house was by fax, now we can reach out to journalists via email, instant messaging and social media. Technology has helped in creating robust media databases that allow us to search, build list and even disseminate press releases, all from a single platform.
Impact of Data from Social Media: As the current social media systems keep track of data, this structured/unstructured data can be easily manipulated by social media companies to understand behavioural patterns and to segregate their users based on taste, preference, political/social inclinations. Social media companies have been known to share this data with various corporations. This data could eventually find its relevance in AI systems to structure an automated infrastructure. This infrastructure can help in understanding current consumer trends. This really helps PR agencies stay ahead of the curve in understanding their client’s target audience.
Impact on Media Monitoring: Media monitoring has also been streamlined with the advancement in technology. With the availability of various media options and the relative ease of accessing, storing and sending information, gone are the days when newspapers articles had to be cut up and mailed to the client. Services like Google Alert have really helped in media monitoring, these services give an instant alert on any mention of the client in the Global Media.
Impact on Media Research: Media research has also benefited with the advancement in technology. Back in the days, PR professionals had to periodically print out giant multiple directories containing information on journalists. Now with google and various websites like Muckrack with keep a track on articles of most journalists along with their respective publications. This helps PR professionals understand the journalist better to tweak their pitch accordingly.
Impact on Brand Response Time: Technological advancements have positively impacted the brand response time during crisis. With social media tools like twitter, brands can respond in real time to issues that arise. PR campaigns that have strictly used social media platforms to get message across have said to garner more if not the same awareness of the communication objective set by the campaign. Social media has also encouraged a collaborative effort from various brands that share similarities in their offerings or their campaigns.
In Conclusion: One of the biggest take away from the advancement of technology is the rise of influencers. These are content creators with a niche audience and a collaborative spirit. Their primary function is to push content that had a positive impact on the brand they have a collaboration with. The development of platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook have driven up the need for influencers.