The challenges in PR we never thought we would have today

Public relations in 2022 looks very different than it has ever looked before. Between the rise of social media in the past decade and COVID-19, we’ve seen nothing but constant change in the industry, and this has left many public relations practitioners frazzled. With this constant change has come constant worry. Will the industry survive? What will it look like in the coming years? Will I have a job? These are all questions we’re asking and hoping to find answers for everyday.

Just like almost every other industry after COVID-19, everyone was questioning their role at their job. Unfortunately, with how dependent public relations is on the media, this industry was affected a little bit more than most others.

To this day, face to face interaction is in question, and for public relations, this is crucial to the success of the firm/agency in question. From making connections, to getting a job in the industry, to knowing people within the industry in order to get your client on a certain publication or news station, the pandemic has made making new connections close to impossible. With hybrid working spaces being an option, the feeling of worry when it came topublic safety lessened, but it is still something most are concerned with when it comes to their working lives and people are scared of what the end result may look like.

“As someone fairly new in the industry, meeting people who are important to know in this crazy world of public relations has been hard. I have noticed it to become slightly easier in recent months as the world is loosening up after the pandemic, but this is still something I’m struggling with,” said Elise Frankel, an account coordinator at Nuffer, Smith, Tucker Public Relations. “I just hope one day soon, public relations goes back to what it was,” Frankel added.

With the drastic increase in social media use as a marketing tactic, the task to stay relevant nowadays is a hard one to keep up with. In order to catch a consumer's eye and keep up with constantly evolving trends every day, agencies and firms must go beyond what is right and provide real service to humanity, society, communities and the environment. Although this was something practitioners always aimed for, the meaning behind everything has become much deeper and has come to represent many new things as the world around us continues to evolve every day.

Although most of what we believe public relations to be is getting press coverage for a brand or booking gigs for an artist, public relations is becoming increasingly more about the consumer, their needs, and how the consumer is playing a role within the brand or company themselves. By getting consumers involved, marketing the product in a way where they feel like they belong with the brand, is the new way of doing public relations right. Without a personal connection, the interest isn't there, and that is one of the biggest challenges public relations practitioners face today.

By Isabel Ricon

Isabel is a New Jersey native and moved across the country to attend San Diego State University. Currently residing in San Diego, Isabel is working towards her bachelors degree in Public Relations while also minoring in Photography. Her professional experience includes doing marketing work for Dang Brother Pizza Catering and assisting the CEO of Chrome City PR Alexandria Ott with any and all public relations tasks. Isabel hopes to one day become the president of a PR agency or even open an agency of her own.