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Introduction
The growth of digital technology has revolutionised the public relations practice, changing the
way individuals and organisations engage, communicate and socialise; leading to the
development of the digital PR specialism. Yaxley (2013) defined digital PR by noting that
convergence of technologies enables multi-media delivery of information, increasingly via
mobile devices, within a 24/7 global communication environment. Essentially digital PR is
the use of digital and social technologies to manage the awareness and understanding,
reputation and brand of an organisation through the purposeful influence of exposure via
digital media (Marketing Teacher, 2016). The growth of terms such as web 2.0 defined by
Flynn (2012) as interactive internet tools that facilitate online conversations, collaboration
and customisation; indicates that digital PR is an essential integrated element to all public
relations sectors. Digital communications and social media is a core component to most
communications strategies going forward and the future of the public relations practice. The
digital PR sector will be critically analysed, examining the impact of a rapidly changing
industry and the effects on practitioners.
has increased according to a recent poll by the PRCA. Practitioners must continue to develop
relevant skills and use the range of tactics Moloney (2008) describes, together with new
developing methods to produce effective integrated campaigns. Nevertheless, in 2016 only
46.1% of the worlds population were internet users (Internet Live Stats, 2016), therefore
reducing the audience reach of a digital or social media campaign.
improve the reputation of the plumbing industry and Dyno, while also aiming to increase
awareness of the brand and abilities as a home emergency service. Dyno obtained the Corp
Comms Magazines Best Digital Campaign award in 2014, demonstrating the effectiveness of
social media in producing a successful targeted campaign to increase profits and acquire a
positive reputation.
Budget Concerns
Despite the dramatic growth of digital PR, the industry is reporting on a lack of budget and
training for digital communications. 46% of organisations only spend 1-10% of their marketing
budget on digital and social media (PRCA, 2013). There is a misconception that digital PR and
social media is inexpensive, however that is not the case; digital PR requires extensive
investment in employees time. Social media and ongoing digital campaigns command 24/7
management, making digital public relations more costly than traditional forms, this scares
some people as they are used to just looking at headcount and agency costs (Watson Helsby,
2010). The tone of discourse in digital PR is more conversational and less formal than
traditional public relations approaches. Practitioners require intensive training in web and
comms 2.0, to manage newly developed tactics skilfully and appropriately to target key
publics and control the reputation of an organisation.
Conclusion
Digital communications are an integrated element in most public relations sectors, however
digital PR practitioners encounter many challenges due to the contemporary nature of digital
PR. Digital media is constantly changing, practitioners must continually adapt to new
technologies for effective management of an organisations or clients reputation and
business relations. Traditional tactics are no longer sufficient; integrating newly developed
tools is essential for effective in-house or agency public relations practice. Furthermore, use
of appropriate social media is providing digital PR with both opportunities and challenges,
misuse of platforms can cause a reputational crisis for organisations. However, with engaging
visual content, social media is a fundamental tool for digital PR, agencies and organisations
going forward. Despite growth of this sector, there are many misconceptions on costings,
there is a lack of budget in comparison to other areas, which causes challenges for
practitioners. The integration of digital tools in public relations specialisms will continue to
grow with the progression of new media technologies. Digital public relations, with well-
trained practitioners is a fundamental component of all public relations going forward.
Charlotte Nelson
References:
BRIONES, Rowena., KUCH, Beth., LIU, Brooke. and JIN, Yan (2011). Keeping Up with The
Digital Age: How the American Red Cross Uses Social Media to Build Relationships. Public
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BRUCE, Stuart (2015). Place of Digital and Social Media in Public Relations. [online].
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FLYNN, Nancy (2012). The Social Media Handbook: Rules, Policies and Best Practices. San
Francisco, Pfeiffer.
MACNAMARA, Jim (2010). Public Communication Practices in the Web 2.0 Mediascape: The
Case of PRevoultion. [online].
http://www.prismjournal.org/fileadmin/Social_media/Macnamara.pdf
MORRIS, Trevor and GOLDSWORTHY, Simon (2012). PR Today: The Authoritative Guide to
Public Relations.
Charlotte Nelson
WADDINGTON, Stephen (2013). A Critical Review of the Four Models of Public Relations and
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content/uploads/2013/06/chartered-practitioner-paper-FINAL.pdf
YAXLEY, Heather and THEAKER, Alison (2013). The Public Relations Strategic Toolkit: An
Essential Guide to Successful Public Relations Practice. Abington, Routledge.
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