From Gatekeepers, To Stewards: How Social Media has Changed Public Relations

In 2009, when Social Media was still somewhat in its infancy, many people were beginning to think long term about where technology was taking us. Also at this time more and more companies were beginning to interact directly with their consumers via social media. Organizations such as Apple, Wal-Mart, Dell, McDonald’s and United Airlines discovered that the internet is a great leveler. As seen in the infographic below, author and PR expert Iliyana Stareva displays just how many positive benefits there are to utilizing social media and its positive impact to a PR teams game plan.
This move away from PR firms and hiring out this type of work to other companies was a bold new step because up until that point, marketing and PR departments, a few directors and salesmen were the mouthpieces of the company and would see to it that only they would have the opportunity to interact with opinion influencing third parties such as journalists, mass media and consumers. 

Today, organizations have taken control of their brands and those that were in charge of gatekeeping information are now its disseminators and have stewardship over ensuring all others in their field are just as trained or educated on the information they hold. Additionally, PR professionals now have the responsibility to educate and monitor everyone in [their] organization. They must also develop crisis communication plans when embarrassing and negative news goes viral over social media.

References

American Uniniversity. (2022). 5 Ways Technology Has Changed the Communication Field. Retrieved from https://programs.online.american.edu/msc/masters-strategic-communication/resources/5-ways-technology-has-changed-the-communication-field

Phillips, D. & Young, P. (2009). Online Public Relations : A Practical Guide to Developing an Online Strategy in the World of Social Media: Vol. 2nd ed. Kogan Page. Retrieved from https://eds-s-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/eds/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzI4MDMxNl9fQU41?sid=74c0df72-f7e9-468c-b0e9-9ce6929e6548@redis&vid=5&format=EB&rid=1

Stareva, I. (2012). The Impact of Social Media on the PR Industry (Infographic). Retrieved from https://www.iliyanastareva.com/blog/the-impact-of-social-media-on-the-pr-industry-survey-findings


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