The future of PR

Last Thursday, I attended the PRSA Northeast District Conference. I was on the PR for Web 2.0 panel with Aaron Urmacher from Text 100 and Chip Griffin of Custom Scoop in the afternoon, but decided to fly out the night before and attend the morning sessions.

I was glad I did, if for no other reason than the morning keynote by Dr. Joe Trahan, a former Army public affairs officer who now runs a media training shop. His presentation, "Joint Information Center Operations and Media Relations - Are You Ready for Alligators, Snakes, Crawfish and Network Cameramen?" was highly entertaining and informative.

I also gathered some intel that I thought would be particularly interesting to PR students. Tony D’Angelo, treasurer of national PRSA shared the following stats:

  • PR is a high-growth profession, with more than 40,000 new jobs expected by 2014 (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
  • PRSA now has 9,000 student members, and student chapters are growing faster than professional chapters

The theme of the conference was relevance — how does PR stay relevant, how can we be relevant with our stories. During the conference I noted something highly relevant for Auburn students and other schools that are devoting significant attention to social media in PR and marketing. And pretty good news for your ability to compete for those 40,000 jobs.

Beyond the small world of social media-oriented PR agencies and practitioners, where we all know and read each other…

Beyond the big agencies, with their islands in Second Life and me2Revolutions…

Out in the real world, at agencies and companies small medium and large, there is interest in blogging and social media. But not a lot of knowledge.

And that, my friends, is your opportunity.

Carpe diem.

Tags:

Blogkeeper

Associated Sites

MarcomWiki - Contributor Bios
Marcom Meme - Submit Sites and Articles - Rank Them
 
Some students participate at the Camp ASCCA Journal. They are learning about social media by creating videos and blogging.

13 comments

Thank you for your encouragement in what we are doing. It is much appreciated during this time of sending resumes, applications and such. Great to hear that the job market isn’t impossible for us.

Social media and learning the how and why of it all sometimes intimidates me. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have all this thrown into the mix as a current PR practitioner. Thankfully I’m getting a course in it and can (hopefully) share what I learn with my employer!

Thank you for this post. It could not have come at a better time seeing as it is midterm week here at Auburn and my stress level is a little high. I am glad to hear that the job market looks promising. Social media is obviously becoming a huge part of being a PR practitioner and it is nice to know that Auburn students will be ahead of the game when we graduate which will hopefully give us an edge at landing a job. I still will continue to be stressed out by my style and design class, but hopefully my digital resume will show employers that i have a working knowledge of social media and it will make me a bit more marketable in the PR world.

It is so nice to hear some outside encouragement with what we are doing. In class we are taught the importance of social media in the PR and Marketing worlds. However, hearing that all of this hard work and effort we are putting in to learning the practice of PR can give us a leg up in job hunting is reassuring.

It is easy to feel overwhelmed with learning the fundamentals of social media. There is so much to learn and it is easy to get bogged down with the complexity of it all. So thank you for reminding us that our exposure to the world of social media is an opportunity rather than a chore.

I must say it’s always motivating to hear that all this work were doing is going to pay off. We get so frustrated and discouraged but knowing it’ll all be worth it makes us press on. Thank you for the information from the conference because those numbers show us we do make a difference in the world.

The thought of graduation frightenens me more and more as it approaches, but knowing what I’ve learned about the world of social media will give me a better chance of landing a job is very encouraging.

Thanks for the encouragement! it is always reassuring to hear that people are noticing what Auburn students are learning in the classroom. Beyond that it is comforting to know that social media skills can give me an advantage when looking for a job upon graduating.

Social media is a complicated thing to understand how to use and implement. I am still learning so much about how it functions in PR. It is nice to know that all this time we are putting into social media will pay off. I am excited to know that since social media in PR is so new, we can be such a useful and important part of this change.

Your words of encouragement are very enlightening and helpful. As graduation approaches, I find myself stressed about the competitive job industry and establishing a prosperous career. After reading your post, I becoming excited knowing that there are so many job opportunities, especially with my familiarity with social media.

I’m excited and intrigued to know that I could be a successful person in such a vast and growing field. It’s also exciting to discover that the PR field is evolving, allowing those with social media knowledge to shine and someday enhance public relations skills of companies and fellow employees.

What a relief to hear that there is such a high demand for PR practitioners out there! This semester especially has been devoted to learning specifically about social media and its role in the future of public relations.

Just the other day, I was talking with my family and we got to talking about facebook and blogging and all that good stuff. They kept saying, “I don’t understand. It is so foreign to me.” It was exciting to be in this conversation where I really did understand something that they didn’t…finally for once! But, truly, I was able to tell them how much this social networking is starting to boom in the corporate world. It’s amazing. But, I agree, we have to be well-educated in these new areas, not just interested. And it’s so comforting knowing that I am in just the right school to learn about it.

It’s good to know that there are jobs out there to be found after graduation. I think social media will catch on in many places (at different levels of intensity) in the next few years. I feel like if I interview with a company that doesn’t yet use social media to their advantage…I could probably convince them as to why they should. Oh, and why they should hire me because I know what I’m talking about when it comes to social media-though I have a lot more to learn before I interview for a job.

I hope to work in sports and I think video will be especially important. My flip camera is so easy to use and would be great to interview an athlete, coach, expert, fans or just to capture one of those unforgettable moments in sports. It’s good to know social media will hopefully help set me apart when looking for a job.

I feel so inspired by this post. I appreciate your words of encouragement and your knowledge on the growing industry. I will honestly say that the competitive nature of this profession is a bit overwhelming at times, especially when you are about to try and get a job. I am thankful for this class, style and design, and I do think that I am gaining an edge that most students will be lacking upon graduation. Your post just made me feel all the more thankful and encouraged, something that you definitely need when you are a senior about to graduate.

I don’t remember why I chose PR. I think because for a while I wanted to do pharmaceutical sales and PR just seemed like the best fit at the time. Now I am realizing that I hit the jackpot as far as my future goes. Because of social media, I not only have an advantage over other public relations graduates, but the job possibilities are growing everyday. It is very encouraging to read posts like yours and to hear Robert, almost everyday in class, tell us about another one of his former students who either got a fabulous job in the PR profession or has received a promotion due to his or her extensive knowledge of social media.

My freshman year I decided to declare PR as my major because I wanted to go to law school, but didn’t want to get a degree in political science in case I stumbled upon the realization that law school really wasn’t for me. I figured I had a wide range of opportunities once I graduated if I pursued degree in PR. Now I have decided that I am going to wait one or two years before applying to law school and during that span of time I would like to gain some experience in the workplace that will benefit me when returning back to school. I am so glad I have chosen PR as my major because the program here at Auburn is considered exceptional when compared to the programs at other universities. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to be a part of this program. I would also like to thank you for the encouraging advice, it adds a boost of confidence right before I’m about to embark on my job search.

I have always known I wanted to major in Public Relations. I have always been interested in event planning and fundraising for a nonprofit organization. It gives me a sense of relief knowing that there are so many job opportunities available to our graduating class. I will be entering the work force after I graduate in May and I feel confident know that there are so many positions available. Social Media is also the future of PR. Tonight in class, we were talking about a former graduate student who just got hired to coordinate social media for her company. It is reassuring to see how social media can give you a promising career option. Now I am actually excited about starting my job search!

Close
E-mail It