Research

It seems like a hardly a day goes by that Facebook isn’t making one change that impacts PR pros. One of the biggest changes that continue to have repercussions for communicators was back in March, when Facebook started to slash organic reach for brand pages.

Much of the PR industry’s social media dialogue focuses on a platform-specific approach. However, I’m afraid that—amidst all these Facebook plans, Twitter strategies and Pinterest campaigns—PR executives and communicators have found themselves astray from truly strategic thinking.

▶ The Unyielding Power of Perception: Sure, things may look great on paper. But when it comes to how the public views your brand, the perception is out of whack. Case in point: the investment potential

Companies of all stripes are scrambling to recruit, hire and retain social media talent. That encompasses people well versed in content creation, SEO, design, video and several other disciplines that are not in the traditional PR mold.

According to Pew, 67% of those ages 16 to 29 read a book at least once a week, considerably more than the 58% of adults ages 30 and older who do so. For PR pros, it’s time to challenge the conventional wisdom regarding millennials.

Even the most popular brands are not immune to rapidly changing consumer tastes.

While brand ambassadors are appealing to some companies because they appear more regulated, they simply aren’t authentic and therefore aren’t effective.

As PR managers prepare for the fourth quarter and early 2015, they’re creating new and innovative programs designed to leverage both social media channels and digital PR. Yet altering pricing models remains decidedly below the radar.

With advertising schedules on the wane, more and more marketing dollars are flowing to PR agencies. But whether agencies are capitalizing on the trend is another story.

Getting your timing down can make the difference between a purchase and unsubscribe, a happy customer and a disgruntled one.