Sure Public Relations has changed over
the years, and more so during the social media boom. Traditional media seems to
be getting busted by new media. The importance of blogs and social media is
getting bigger. So there is a new to-do list that PR professionals ought to do
today.
The traditional skills and attributes
that PR professionals needed to have were writing, good communication skills,
media relations, proactiveness, and good work ethic. But in the new age of
digital media, there are a few more attributes and skills that is added to that
list, including blogging, microblogging, social networking tools, SEO, Coding,
RSS, RSS readers, blogger relations, and social media ethics (Fleet, D., 2009).
Arik Hanson writes on the PR Daily site
that by 2020 PR professionals will have to add a few more skills to be competitive
and survive in the ever growing public relations world. The few skills that
they would need are (Hanson, A. 2012).
1.
Advertising
copywriting
2.
Video
editing/ production
3.
Mobile
4.
Social
content creation/ curation
5.
Analytics
6.
Search
Engine Optimization
7.
Speed
to information
8.
Programming
skills
9.
Managing
virtual teams
10.
Blogger
outreach
PRO's today have to monitor content on
Twitter, Facebook and online communities, and at the same time update these
sites on a continuous basis to stay abreast with the new media world. Online
communications and social media are the real growth areas at the moment. But
overall this is an opportunity for PR professionals. They have more channels
through which they can speak with the customers in a short period of time.
So a PR professional, a job seeker, a
business should welcome social media in their lives and stay up-to-date with
the online medium. Being well versed with social media is very important for
people looking for a career as a PR professional. A business owner needs to
hire a PR company and/or hire staff to take care of their social media and make
sure they stay updated with the online world. PR professionals already know
that they got to do social media but they need to innovate and attend social
media workshops to make sure that they stay up-to-date (Krautstrunk, M. 2011).
Reference
List
Fleet, D. (2009). 14 Key Skills & Attributes For New Public Relations Professionals.
Dave Fleet.com website. Retrieved from website link
Hanson, A. (2012). 10 skills PR professionals will need in 2020. PR Daily. Retrieved
from website link
Krautstrunk, M. (2011). PR Job Descriptions: Professional Social
Media Experience Now Necessary? PR breakfast club. Retrieved from website link
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