Charlotte Nelson

Critical Evaluation of Digital Public Relations

Introduction
The growth of digital technology has revolutionised the public relations practice, changing the
way individuals and organisations engage, communicate and socialise; leading to the
development of the digital PR specialism. Yaxley (2013) defined digital PR by noting that
convergence of technologies enables multi-media delivery of information, increasingly via
mobile devices, within a 24/7 global communication environment. Essentially digital PR is
the use of digital and social technologies to manage the awareness and understanding,
reputation and brand of an organisation through the purposeful influence of exposure via
digital media (Marketing Teacher, 2016). The growth of terms such as web 2.0 defined by
Flynn (2012) as interactive internet tools that facilitate online conversations, collaboration
and customisation; indicates that digital PR is an essential integrated element to all public
relations sectors. Digital communications and social media is a core component to most
communications strategies going forward and the future of the public relations practice. The
digital PR sector will be critically analysed, examining the impact of a rapidly changing
industry and the effects on practitioners.

Pace of Digital Public Relations

All sectors of public relations encounter challenges, however due to the continual growth of
digital technology; a 10% (322 million) increase since January 2015 (Hepburn, 2016), digital
PR is facing many challenges. A main challenge digital PR practitioners encounter is the speed
of change and response in the industry. The traditional press release is no longer an effective
way to reach all target audiences; practitioners must broaden their range of tactics to work
successfully. Traditional public relations tactics consist mainly of media relations, press
releases and word of mouth however, contemporary public relations has a broader range of
tools and tactics. Harrington (2015) noted that one of the challenges of digital PR is to
rebalance the traditional press release with more visual communication and thinking (PR
Week, 2015). Kevin Moloney (2008) stated public relations is a set of competencies: blogger
relations, media relations, creating and curating online content, social media engagement,
online discussions, events, and one to one contact. Public trust in traditional forms of media
has declined while faith in peer recommendations, blogs and user-generated content (UGC)
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has increased according to a recent poll by the PRCA. Practitioners must continue to develop
relevant skills and use the range of tactics Moloney (2008) describes, together with new
developing methods to produce effective integrated campaigns. Nevertheless, in 2016 only
46.1% of the worlds population were internet users (Internet Live Stats, 2016), therefore
reducing the audience reach of a digital or social media campaign.

New Public Relations

Digital PR is integrated into most sectors of public relations, evident in internal
communications, consumer and corporate communications. Morris and Goldsworthy (2012)
stated that it is not about a particular sector digital PR can be used in all areas. Similarly,
Bruce (2015) noted that all public relations is real world, digital and social, offering an
incredible opportunity for practitioners. Practitioners can engage directly with stakeholders,
without mass media and journalists. Campaigns and strategic messages are precise to key
publics, allowing for real time response; crucial in developing relationships, maintaining
reputation and engaging with consumers. Web 2.0 facilitates and emphasises two-way
interactive communication, suggesting that the two-way symmetrical model of Excellence
Theory is more ethical and effective than one-way communication and asymmetrical models.
However, Web 2.0 and digital PR tactics include conversations on forums, social media and
blogs, put publics securely in control and the audience at the core of the conversation,
seemingly conflicting the Four Models of Public Relations and Excellence Theory.

Opportunities in Social Media

Social media is a fundamental tool to communicate, engage and interact with key
stakeholders. It is now possible for organisations to engage directly with consumers using
online networks. As social media tools become mainstream, organizations must update their
strategies and tactics to build relationships (Briones et al, 2010). However, the digital PR
industry must understand the change in technology and attitudes of consumers, to utilise the
future emerging opportunities. When used appropriately and lawfully, social media can
deliver undeniable communication and collaboration, sales and service, marketing publicity
benefits to business (Flynn, 2012). Plumbing and drains network Dyno, give example of using
social media as an innovative tool to engage new audiences. In 2015, Dyno launched a hugely
successful Six Second Saviours campaign on Twitter, using creative simplistic Vine videos to
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improve the reputation of the plumbing industry and Dyno, while also aiming to increase
awareness of the brand and abilities as a home emergency service. Dyno obtained the Corp
Comms Magazines Best Digital Campaign award in 2014, demonstrating the effectiveness of
social media in producing a successful targeted campaign to increase profits and acquire a
positive reputation.

Challenges of Social Media

However, social media is a sphere of public networks that broadcast globally, they must be
strategically managed by practitioners to avoid reputational crisis. Yaxley (2013) noted online
communication signifies a shift away from private conversations between PR practitioners
and professional journalists to public discussion (Yaxley, 2013). Practitioners must be
actively managing online content, there is no private discussions in the contemporary public
relations and media industry. The interconnected nature of social media means that when a
message is sent in electronic form, the original sender loses all control of content as it passes
from network to network. Therefore, Flynn (2012) notes social media when left unmanaged
can open organisations of all sizes and types to potentially costly and protracted risks (Flynn,
2012). Digital PR is developing the public relations industry as an increasingly open and
transparent sector. Practitioners must effectively manage web 2.0 tools, to monitor the
public discussion Yaxley described.

Case Study: Dominos Pizza

Dominos Pizzas YouTube crisis in 2009 is an example of how social media can instantly
damage an organisations reputation and the pressure on practitioners to quickly and
strategically resolve the issue. On the 12th April 2009, two Dominos employees filmed
themselves violating health and safety regulations while preparing Dominos Pizzas, the
footage was uploaded to YouTube and had more than 1 million views, in 3 days, the video
quickly spread to many other social media sites, Facebook and Twitter. Dominos responded
with a video statement 48 hours after the initial video and produced a specific Twitter account
for any customers with any concerns. Levick (2009) noted that the Dominos should have
responded in the first 24 critical hours, however their later response was textbook (York,
2009). It is vital that practitioners receive continual training on social media management to
effectively manage an organisations reputation in times of digital crises.
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Budget Concerns
Despite the dramatic growth of digital PR, the industry is reporting on a lack of budget and
training for digital communications. 46% of organisations only spend 1-10% of their marketing
budget on digital and social media (PRCA, 2013). There is a misconception that digital PR and
social media is inexpensive, however that is not the case; digital PR requires extensive
investment in employees time. Social media and ongoing digital campaigns command 24/7
management, making digital public relations more costly than traditional forms, this scares
some people as they are used to just looking at headcount and agency costs (Watson Helsby,
2010). The tone of discourse in digital PR is more conversational and less formal than
traditional public relations approaches. Practitioners require intensive training in web and
comms 2.0, to manage newly developed tactics skilfully and appropriately to target key
publics and control the reputation of an organisation.

Conclusion
Digital communications are an integrated element in most public relations sectors, however
digital PR practitioners encounter many challenges due to the contemporary nature of digital
PR. Digital media is constantly changing, practitioners must continually adapt to new
technologies for effective management of an organisations or clients reputation and
business relations. Traditional tactics are no longer sufficient; integrating newly developed
tools is essential for effective in-house or agency public relations practice. Furthermore, use
of appropriate social media is providing digital PR with both opportunities and challenges,
misuse of platforms can cause a reputational crisis for organisations. However, with engaging
visual content, social media is a fundamental tool for digital PR, agencies and organisations
going forward. Despite growth of this sector, there are many misconceptions on costings,
there is a lack of budget in comparison to other areas, which causes challenges for
practitioners. The integration of digital tools in public relations specialisms will continue to
grow with the progression of new media technologies. Digital public relations, with well-
trained practitioners is a fundamental component of all public relations going forward.
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