Edward Bernays (1891–1995), the founder of public relations, wrote in his 1928 book Propaganda, “If we understand the mechanism and motives of the group mind, is it not possible to control and regiment the masses according to our will without their knowing about it?
In 1928, the answer was yes. Bernays proved it for clients like P&G, CBS, American Tobacco Company and GE.
But today, the answer is no. The Internet changed public relations forever. Now the individual is in control. People trust their peers more than they trust companies. Relationships trump messages. If Bernays were alive today, he’d see what we all are seeing: public relations is moving from “relating to publics” to “relationships with stakeholders.”
Time-honored tactics like media relations and crisis communications remain in the public relations toolbox. But our clients need more to become irreplaceable brands. That’s why Cause Branding and Corporate Citizenship dominate our services offerings today.
It’s also why Barkley Public Relations is developing its latest offering—social media services. Blogs, podcasting, social networks, photo/video sharing and online forums are social media tools that make connections, generate conversations, build trust and form relationships.
To help legitimize our service, two months ago “Social Media Analyst” was added to my title. Now a group of Barkley enthusiasts inside and outside of the public relations group push to prove social media tools can work. We’ve pitched a lot of ideas to clients and executed a few, and there’s more work to do.
Now is an exciting time to not only be practicing public relations, but to be practicing public relations at Barkley. The profession is going through its biggest change since World War II, and the blurred lines at Barkley position us as one of the few agencies in the nation that can successfully execute social media projects for clients. Combine that with all our other services, and you’ve got a relationship-building machine.
