Throughout 2018 I’ve had the opportunity to interview a range of interesting people across the PR profession. One question I’ve asked them all is: Does the term public relations adequately describe what we as professionals do today?
The term PR often comes with negative connotations around spin and dishonesty. It is one of the reasons I named this podcast Smoke Signal – as PR is often clouded in mystery and not well understood.
In the final episode of 2018 I bring together responses from across the spectrum.
Some, such as UK pracademic Andy Green, see the writing on the wall for the term “PR” unless we do something about it, and quickly. While others like PR Warrior Trevor Young and HSPR’s Sarah Mason are sticking strong to the old school definition, seeing relations a key word describing what we do.
I tend to agree with the latter, but it is an open debate and one that continues not just locally, but globally.
In the news on this episode of Smoke Signal, I discuss one of the many 2019 outlook pieces out there. This one, by social media monitoring platform Talkwalker, looks at the 12 social media trends that will impact PR and marketing in 2019.
The rise of data, ongoing technological innovation and dramatic societal changes will be felt in 2019.
Here’s a link to the report and take a listen to the podcast for the trends I found particularly interesting.