News
New Technology Tools Highly Accepted PR
Wed, Jul 25 2007
SYDNEY (25 July 2007) — Findings in a new survey of public relations professionals and students conducted by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and Dow Jones & Company (NYSE: DJ), in concert with its Factiva suite of products, show that new communication technology has been widely accepted by the public relations profession. Simultaneously, communicators at all levels of experience, including students, strongly believe that new technology tools, such as blogs and social networking sites, present critical credibility and ethical challenges. The survey, “Wired for Change – A Survey of Public Relations Professionals and Students: Attitudes, Usage and Expectations in the New Communication Technology Environment,” was conducted to explore how professional and student members of PRSA and the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) view the role of technology in shaping current and future communication practices. The survey was sent to a random sample of both organisations’ memberships, with response rates of 5 percent for professionals and 2 percent for students. A majority of respondents in both groups raised concerns about the credibility of information being generated through new media sources, such as social networking sites, and placed the greatest amount of trust in traditional media — including more technology-driven traditional media, such as online newspapers. “New media and communication technology are widely embraced by populations of all ages, resulting in a virtual cornucopia, a wealth of media sources and endless consumer choice,” said Rhoda Weiss, APR, Fellow PRSA, chair and CEO, PRSA. “New media represents a highly effective means for breaking news and commentary. Organisational crises dramatically underscore the value of new communication technology tools in offering instantaneous communications. The citizen journalist with a high-tech cell phone and blog can turn the role of communications upside down — from a world of control to a world of community and conversation. These tools make our work more complex, raising more questions than answers, like how to translate professional ethical standards into the world of social media. The survey results highlight areas where PRSA can help communicators effectively learn to use and build credibility for these tools.” More students than professionals indicated that the use of some of the new communications channels could present significant ethical challenges for public relations professionals. According to the survey, 46 percent of the students and 35 percent of professionals think technology makes it difficult to conduct public relations ethically. Additionally, 41 percent of students responded that technology makes defending against skepticism about public relations more difficult, compared to 33 percent of professionals. “The proliferation of blogs and social networking sites are definitely changing the rules of public relations, and the survey results indicate that both professionals and students are quite aware of the challenges they present,” says Alan C. Scott, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Dow Jones Enterprise Media Group. “Both groups also recognise that new communication technology helps them to better manage their organisations’ reputations, so I think we’ll see an increased adoption of tools that help public relations professionals monitor Web conversations and engage with stakeholders.” Key Findings Nearly all students (97 percent) and professionals (95 percent) agreed that technology has positively impacted the public relations practice. According to the survey, professionals and students believe that online news, online video and personal digital assistants (PDAs) have had the most significant impact on how public relations professionals do their jobs. Professionals also cited podcasting, while students ranked professional networking Web sites highly. Generally, students have a more positive view of new communications tools than professionals, especially professional networking Web sites, Internet TV, blogs, social networking sites, satellite TV, Internet radio, chat rooms and video phones. Both groups believe that the technology-driven channels that provide the best opportunities for the practice of public relations are online news Web sites, blogs and social networking sites. Students are more optimistic than professionals about the potential usefulness of social and professional networking sites. According to the survey, 19 percent of students reported that social networking sites present the most significant opportunity, compared to 10 percent of the professionals. Eight percent of students said professional networking sites were the biggest opportunity, compared to 2 percent of professionals. This positive view doesn’t necessarily translate into greater technology resources. In fact, most professionals believe their organisations lag in broader communication technology use, with 20 percent saying they are ahead of the trend. The survey suggests that both groups believe new technology channels, such as instant messaging, are most effective for disseminating information quickly, reaching broad audiences and monitoring trends. Eighty-eight percent of professionals and 75 percent of students indicated that technology enables public relations professionals to easily reach mass markets. However, they also acknowledged that while blogs and social networking sites are clearly increasing in popularity, they are unregulated, and the potential for reputational harm and for rumors to spread quickly exists. “We are hoping to repeat this survey later this year to determine evolving trends in the new and next media and how opinions of public relations professionals and students have changed. We must continue to seek guidance to the tough questions we face daily on the most effective methods to deliver messages in this fragmented communications world and the best way to integrate social media into public relations programs while translating our professional ethical standards into the environment of social media,” adds Weiss. About the Survey The survey was conducted in the last quarter of 2006 and the first quarter of 2007. There were 482 surveys completed by PRSA members, with a margin of error of +/- 4.4 percent, at a 95 percent confidence level. PRSSA members returned 367 surveys, with a margin of error of +/- 5.1 percent, at a 95 percent confidence level, says Dow Jones, who conducted the survey. About two-thirds of the PRSA members surveyed were employed by for-profit or nonprofit organisations, with the remainder working in public relations agencies or practicing independently. All PRSSA respondents were full-time or part-time students.