WHITE PAPER: PUBLIC RELATIONS INDUSTRY POISED TO EXCEL IN THE ERA OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Report Commissioned by Council of Public Relations Firms Analyzes the Impact of Social Media on the Industry

The paper, titled: "Relating to the Public: the Evolving Role of Public Relations in the Age of Social Media" looks closely at the impact being made by social media– from blogs to social networks to wikis - on various aspects of the public relations industry, from talent development to client-consultancy relationships to the increasingly competitive marketing services arena.

Among the survey’s key findings are:

• The public relations industry is poised to excel in the era of social media due to the fact that public relations has always been about social influence;
• A pitched battle among marketing disciplines has created a sense of urgency in the public relations industry. There is a feeling that it must respond swiftly and intelligently to the new opportunities in order to continue its robust growth;
• Case examples of what leading public relations practitioners are currently doing in the area of social media, and how industry leaders are imagining the future.

A survey of Council member firms, conducted for this paper in April, reflected some of the trends taking place inside public relations firms. Some highlights from that survey included:

• 84% of firms are actively engaged in blogosphere on behalf of clients;
• 78% of participating member firms claimed that clients were interested (38%) to extremely interested (40%) in their social media capabilities;
• Nearly half (49%) have a dedicated online/interactive group. Another 17% have plans to add this capability this year.

The paper was co-authored by Paul Rand, CEO of Zocalo Group and Giovanni Rodriguez founder of Hubbub. Rand and Rodriguez interviewed executives from leading public relations firms and corporations, as well as bloggers and citizen journalists.

To download the White Paper, click here

About the Council of Public Relations Firms

The Council of Public Relations Firms is comprised of America’s leading public relations firms. Its membership represents the premier global, mid-size, regional and specialty agencies across every discipline and practice area. The Council’s mission is to increase awareness of the value of public relations firms in corporate strategy, business performance and social education, serving as an authoritative source of industry information and to develop standards for the public relations industry. For more information about the Council of Public Relations Firms, call 1-877-PRFIRMS or visit our website at www.prfirms.org.