Debate surrounding where the PR function should sit within an organisation is a bit like debate on whether Australia should become a republic. We don’t talk about it every day, but pretty much everyone’s got an opinion. And just like the republic debate it’s unlikely to go away anytime soon.
According to recent PRIA guest blogger Mary-Lee Sachs that’s not surprising given the rate of change and rising importance of reputation management.
But what does this mean for PR professionals? Well, according to Mary, as organisations embrace an holistic approach to communications we’ll see more Chief Communications Officers report into the CMO, rather than the CEO.
For some in the industry this is a negative move, diminishing the value and importance of PR. For others it’s a natural shift given the joined-up approach to marcomms now being embraced.
Interesting perspectives and ones I’m sure we’ll continue to hear but is this really the debate we should be focusing our energies on? For me, debate over the future role of PR should be less about where PR should sit and more about the value it can deliver. For instance, it’s all very well the PR function having a direct report to a CEO but if that function is not offering the value and strategic insight required then discussion over its position is nothing more than debate for debate’s sake. At the same time, if PR reports into the marketing function and is able to play a strategic management role successfully then arguably the fact it sits under marketing doesn’t really matter.
The question then is, what does this strategic management role look like and how can PR play it?
In PR the term ‘strategic’ is often limited to campaign planning. An important activity, of course, but this isn’t really what the strategic management role of PR is about. For me, where the PR function plays a strategic management role it helps connect organisational decision-making with what’s happening externally. As PR people we can play that role with legitimacy and authority given we’re the ‘eyes and ears’ of a business, monitoring what everyone from industry bodies to media is saying.
And although anyone in a business can read a newspaper, speak with employees or monitor social media comments, unlike other functions this is what PR teams live and breathe every day.
What’s exciting in the current environment is how the PR function has an even greater opportunity to add value to decision-making at the highest level. The rising popularity of social media is the fuel behind this opportunity.
With more individuals wanting to connect and engage with organisations through multiple channels, particularly online, business leaders face greater scrutiny than ever. Today the world is watching so scanning the stakeholder environment isn’t just important – it’s mission critical.
For PR professionals keen to add greater value to top-level decision making here’s five ways embracing social media monitoring can help…
1. Securing new business – Keeping a close eye on LinkedIn groups, Twitter posts and Facebook can open doors for new business opportunities that could easily be missed offline. Many of our clients have secured new business or at least engaged prospects through interactions online so the better the PR function can do at identifying these opportunities the better it is for business.
2. Managing issues – Social media has transformed the news cycle as stories/issues can now be broken by an individual before they hit the media. For PR professionals monitoring the online environment means these issues can be spotted early and handled before they become bigger.
3. Improving customer service – Now all consumers have a voice online and aren’t afraid to broadcast their opinion, delivering excellent customer service has become paramount. PR teams can help by spotting early any negative customer comments online – whether they be on forums or Twitter – and flag them internally so appropriate action can be taken.
4. Competitor tracking – Monitoring the online environment isn’t just great for monitoring what people are saying about your organisation – it’s also great to see what they’re saying about your competitors. By keeping a close eye on emerging trends online PRs can help their organisation be on the front-foot by anticipating likely competitor activity.
5. Conducing market research – When you think about market research expensive focus groups and in-depth consumer research studies may spring to mind. While these tools are still valuable, social media opens the doors for a real-time snap-shot of what consumers think about your products/services. PR functions can feedback that insight internally to product teams so that shifts in buying behaviour can be taken into account early and any changes to products/services made.
These are just five thoughts – I’d welcome your views on how you think getting better at social media monitoring can help the PR function make an even greater strategic contribution…
