Has social media changed PR?

It has certainly had an impact on how professionals do their jobs, but it hasn’t changed what makes communication effective.

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Odds are you read that headline and clicked on this link with the thought, “Of course social media has changed public relations.”

You know what, you’re right. But stick with me.

It’s been slightly more than a year since I left the world of journalism and began as a PR pro. Among the many lessons I’ve learned has been how to take advantage of social media and social media analytics to get to know and connect with an audience. As I follow conversations on Twitter and read various blogs, the question of how PR pros should use social media keeps coming up.

For all the discussion surrounding the effects of social media and how it’s changing the way we do business, I feel confident in saying that social media has not fundamentally changed public relations.

At its core, public relations, including media relations, community relations and marketing, is still all about creating relationships. It’s even in the name.

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