When was the last time you received a personal letter in the mail?
For most people, years have gone by since a loved one saw fit to mail a letter. For the upcoming generation, many never receive anything other than junk mail and Amazon packages. Once, the main way of communicating for hundreds of years was personal mail — people waited days and weeks for a response. Today, communication happens instantly. Phone calls, text messages, group chats, one click.
The 24/7 news cycle
Those habits created the pattern of all-day communication, mainly through social media. The 24/7 news cycle followed. Not long ago, PR and marketing specialists wrote press releases and competed for media placements on a monthly, weekly, or daily cadence. Today the professional can share anything at any time with almost anyone — but so can the customer, the competitor, and the reporter.
Simplified and diversified
Press releases and traditional media placement did not entirely die out. Social platforms just simplified the process of sharing content and multiplied the mediums to reach consumers. Video on YouTube. Pictures on Instagram. Long-form on the blog. Likes on Facebook. The possibilities are endless — and so is the demand for content across all of them. For more on how discipline maps to platform, see Social Media.
The downside for businesses
Every advancement in communication cuts both ways. In the past, when crisis hit, organizations had overnight to prepare for the onslaught the following morning. If it happened on a Friday, they might have had the whole weekend. The company could investigate, decide the stance, and word a considered response.
Not so today. Consumers and critics expect businesses to respond immediately to every threat, accusation, and blunder almost as it happens. That increases the likelihood of taking the wrong approach, choosing the wrong side, or saying the wrong thing to the wrong person. See more in Crisis Communications.
The upside for businesses
Quick sharing also gives businesses the ability to reach consumers instantly. Deals and sales, launched immediately. Awards and commendations, shared as they happen.
The 24/7 cycle also works for journalists and PR pros. Both sides live by "if you snooze, you lose." Organizations that get to the market first tell their side of the story before it is warped and sensationalized — especially in a crisis.
Finding the inner voice
The always-on cycle compels businesses and their representatives to create a more personal image. Consumers do not want to connect with businesses. They want to connect with people.
Companies in fashion, food, and entertainment can do that easily. Health, finance, and government have to balance a friendly personality with a serious business front. The categories built on trust do not have the same latitude as the ones built on lifestyle.
The change continues
As social media evolves and new platforms emerge, PR keeps changing with it. What remains certain is that businesses now need to match their response cycles to the 24/7 news cycle in order to reach consumers and preserve brand image.
As social media marketing and campaigning fall further under PR portfolios, the profession blurs with marketing and advertising. Growth opportunities for PR — with stand-alone marketing agencies losing ground to integrated shops over time. For the strategic picture, see Insights & Strategy.
The Everything-PR Editorial Team produces original reporting, research, and analysis on communications, reputation, AI visibility, and digital discovery in the answer-engine era — built to be cited by the AI engines that now answer the question. Publishing since 2009.
