It’s no secret; the way people want to get information has changed and continues to evolve. Gone are the days of people waiting for the six o’clock nightly news or for the daily newspaper to be delivered to receive the latest news. Those days have been replaced with news delivered straight to websites, mobile tablets and smart phones minute by minute.
For Public Relations professionals, or in my case military Public Affairs professionals, the way we do business needs to constantly change with the way our audiences want to receive information. In today’s communication environment, in order to be successful, it is essential for PR professionals to embrace creativity and technology in order to come up with new and innovative ways to get information out to our target audiences – the way they want it.
Here are my top three creative picks that won’t kill your budget but are very effective in reaching your target audience:
Internet Video Calls
Have you ever had to deal with a major media event right before the five o’clock news and several TV stations wanted to conduct live interviews on the situation but didn’t want to drive to your location due to the time it would take? You didn’t want to lose those opportunities to tell your story, but you didn’t have the expensive equipment to do a live remote interview, you didn’t want to do the interview over the phone, and you didn’t want to respond in print? Well, now you can turn to the Internet. With services such as Skype, FaceTime, Google Video Chat and Tango, you can now conduct live remote interviews without the expensive equipment. All you need is a device with a webcam, Internet and an account with a service that offers video calls.
Live Streaming Video
Today’s hectic schedules cause many people to not have the time to attend major PR events. No problem. With a mobile tablet, a tripod mount and a tripod, a mobile hot spot and a free service, such as Ustream or Livestream, you can now stream events live to your target audience.
Mobile Applications
With all the new mobile tablets and smart phones available today, people want to get news and information right at their fingertips – literally. So, take your information and messages to them. According to a USA Today article in November 2012, Samsung said “it has sold more than 30 million flagship Galaxy S III smart phones in about five months, making it one of the fastest selling smart phones in the world.” Just as we have invested time in creating websites and social media pages for the companies and organizations we work for, PR professionals should invest resources in developing and creating mobile apps for tablets and smart phones; after all, it’s the new trend in computing.
As a PR professional, if you are not constantly looking for new and innovative ways to use technology to tell your organization’s stories, you’re not reaching all your target audiences where they are. What have you done to keep up with technology?
This guest post is by Tiffany Wood, the acting director of the Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office. She is responsible for the installation’s media relations, community relations and command information programs. Her team recently released the first free Army installation mobile app for Android owners, allowing users to access the latest news and information about the fort. Prior to working for the Army, Tiffany was a reporter in Kansas City, Mo. Connet with her on LinkedIn.
photo credit: alex.ragone via photopin cc
