Public Relations Reflection; My Culminating Experience

Looking back on this semester, it was not at all what I thought it was going to be. As a marketing major, I am use to various management and marketing classes in the GVSU Seidman College of Business that are more numbers and managerial decision focused. As CAP220 being my first public relations class at GVSU, this was a very different pace for me. I have never been in a class environment where tweeting and the use of social media was allowed let alone encouraged. No offense to the business school, but learning real-world examples beyond videos produced in the 80s was refreshing. We had the opportunity to attend events like Aimwest social media networking events within the community and hear speakers from Lambert Edwards, Spectrum Health and Davenport University. For the first time in a class room, I felt real-world examples take a step closer.

In Grand Valley’s CAP220 class this semester, we were told to create a plan book for a local summer camp called Camp Blodgett. The goal of this campaign book was to increase awareness about Camp Blodgett in Kent and Ottawa Counties through community outreach, resource and network development and advocacy. When I was told to produce content including: primary research, secondary research, strategies, objectives, tactics, a Gantt chart and budget. Developing these items for the first time, I felt like I was figuring everything out blindly. Periodically after producing our rough drafts of each item, the CAP220 class was allowed to peer edit work and give each other further insight as well as get advice from the professor.  Building the budget for my campaign book was the most difficult task in my opinion because I was hesitant about estimating prices of things like the cost of sending out direct mail, how much to pay employees to work on social media, how much to set aside in budget for paid advertising space in magazines, etc. Since I have not been out in the real world working on these type of things, it was difficult for me to estimate how much items would cost. My favorite aspect of the campaign book was building a mock-up email to current Camp Blodgett donors and supporters. When I started figuring out how to write this email, I began to think about organizations I donate to and how I would want to receive information. When donating I want to know exactly where my money is going, giving a sense of transparency, and that is exactly what I tried to communicate in my email newsletter.

Now that I am coming out of the tail-end of my studies, I am very thankful for the time I was able to devote learning how to form these items on my own. As I was listening to my class mates present their campaign book ideas toward the end of the semester, this got me brainstorming even more. I believe working on a PR team to build a campaign book for a client would be much more effective than creating one solo because then individuals have the ability to build and advance ideas off of each other. I believe some of the students in my CAP220 class will develop into great public relations professionals in the future. In reality, if I were to work in PR and a client came walking through the door, there would be no step-by-step directions to solve the client’s problems; it’s going to take hard work and brainstorming to have a successful client campaign

I have never blogged before my CAP 220 class. This is something I am very thankful for because I have always had the interest of blogging, but never took the initiative creating one or figuring out what content to blog about. Discovering my blogging voice as I was writing posts took time. I wanted to write in a professional but casual way that would be understandable to the reader and informative. I found that designing my blog and the ability for anyone using the Internet to have exposure to my blog exciting. After I created my “About Me” page, I started gaining some site visits and comments. I realized my writing actually had the ability to reach people I never intended. I loved the idea that I was not just writing content for myself and my professor to read, but my blogs had the potential to inspire or educate almost anyone.

After taking this class and getting a view in the life of a public relations professional, I have realized I enjoy aspects of public relations, but would not want to it solely. I enjoy marketing very much and I believe that public relations ties in so frequently to it. I believe marketing and public relations will be working hand-in-hand in my future, especially in digital marketing. Currently working in digital marketing at Steelcase Inc., I work communicating to the public on their accounts such as Twitter and Pinterest. I have yet to learn about aspects of advertising, but that is a subject I am interested in learning more about as well.

Past to Present Definitions of Public Relations

With the changes in technology and trends, public relations is an ever-changing field. There were a lot of ways my thinking was faulty when I initially thought of public relations.

I use to believe public relations handled sending press releases and updates to the public via newspapers and television shows. Not only are public relations professionals in charge of that, however, they also must deal with damage control. They are responsible for not only the ‘good’ of the company, they are also responsible for the ‘bad.’ After hearing multiple speakers come into our Grand Valley CAP class, I had no idea how closely public relations professionals actually work with professionals in news and television. Local public relations professionals in the Grand Rapids area are so familiar with the news/television professionals that they know which ones will twist the truth, are delayed in responding or have poor attitudes. I had no idea how high pressure a public relations professional job could be. To consistently represent a company in a good fashion I believe it would come with some difficulties.

I also did not realize what a huge factor digital social media had to do with public relations. Social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Google+, etc. have a huge impact with communication from a company to the public. I did not fully understand that when a company tries to communicate digitally, it is important for them to post things that are thought-provoking and they are not just talking for the sake of it.

I had no awareness that a public relations professional could work in a firm, corporation or solo. Firms approach public relations for multiple companies while corporations work for their own company.   I also had no awareness that firms versus corporations have a different effect when they are phrasing an offensive versus defensive approach. For instance, when negative rumors spread about the leadership of a corporation, the in-house corporation team can be a credible source to repair the damage. Alternatively a PR firm can offer instant credibility to the media and offer experience in messaging and placement of that message across a broad range of industry categories. Solo public relations entails a public relations professional being their own boss, working on their own hours and from the locations they choose from. As nice as this sounds, it is important to keep in mind in order for a solo public relations professional to be successful, he/she must be very self-motivated, be able to handle times of economic downturn and not be timid about getting him/herself out there. Solo public relations professionals don’t have the instant credibility that comes with working for an large organization but can be very rewarding when the hard work pays off. 

In the beginning of this semester, if someone would have asked me to define public relations to them I would have given them a very vague answer saying something about a corporation communicating to the public, but after this class I have realized it is so much more than that.  Public relations is involved in every field from nonprofits to education to healthcare to governments and more. It is essential to every company and brand, it is constantly changing and a field that requires a professional to constantly be on their toes.

Career Aspirations

I frequently catch myself dreaming and scheming about my future career aspirations. Prior to this year, I was unsure exactly what a PR professional did. There are many aspects about public relations I can see myself doing in the future as well as others I can’t.

I love engaging in digital social media including LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc. I currently intern at Steelcase Inc. doing digital marketing. Digital marketing is something I can see myself doing for many years. Although ‘marketing’ is in the title of my job description, there are many public relations aspects that come into play. I enjoy using social media to help a company build a brand, a voice, a reputation and a transparency with their customers. One of my favorite quotes about social media I heard this year was at one of Grand Rapid’s aimWest events by a man named Derek Devries saying, “Give, give, give, give, give, and then give again, so that you can ask.” This statement I believe does a great description of how to approach social media. In the future I want to help run digital communication for a company that produces content that is personally relevant to their audience, genuinely having our content adding value to their lives, so that in time we may ask something of them when the time comes.  I believe digital communication is on the rise, therefore I can definitely see myself doing this in the future.

As time goes on I can see myself helping a company/ corporation build their ‘brand’ or ‘look’ to the public. There is a department at Steelcase called ‘MarCom’ which is something I believe I will be very interested in. ‘MarCom’ stands for Marketing-Communications department. They are in charge of hosting things like all the Steelcase photo and video promotional shoots, designing promotional materials and communicating to the public a consistent ‘look’ for the company. One day I hope I can work to represent the brand of a large company like Google, Nike, Apple, Starbucks, Intel, etc. I also believe there will be a rise of social media that promotes highly visual content, focusing on the quality of picture and video.

I believe in the future I would like to work in an agency type of environment rather than doing solo PR. I enjoy getting up, dressing business professional and working in a team environment. I would not like working out of my house, having no communication with others and not having a reason to really get ready in the morning. Although it would be nice some days being able to stay in my sweatpants and work from my kitchen table, I would not want to do that all the time. I hope my future job will allow me to be flexible enough to be able to occasionally work out of my home or a remote location such as a coffee shop on the days I want to take a break from the office. I believe in creative work environments and contributing to a company that understands all workers are most efficient at different hours and working in different ways. Although there is something to be said about the benefits of being your own boss in solo PR, overall I believe I would be able to have more of an impact working for a larger agency.

Is Solo Public Relations for You?

When working for yourself there is only one person to rely on, that’s right… you. There is more than initially meets the eye when considering to join solo public relations; therefore, it is important to weight the pros and cons.

There are a number of pros working in solo PR. When I first thought of solo PR I thought it would be great to work my own hours, starting and stopping as I please. I could also choose my location. Whether I wanted to work out of my kitchen or the local Starbucks, nothing was telling me I couldn’t. One of the greatest perks of doing solo PR is the ability to have creative freedom. Working for large corporations you often have to go through many levels of leadership to get things approved. “When you work for someone else, you’re never in control. Might seem like you are, but you’re not. You’re at the mercy of those making the decisions. Whether that’s the CEO, the president of the business owner” (Hanson, 2011). Along with the ability to have creative freedom comes the ability to say “no” to clients you don’t feel comfortable working with. Finally although I personally enjoy dressing nice going into work, on the days I feel like staying in a sweatshirt and sweatpants solo PR would allow me to do so.

To every upside there is a down; there are also some aspects of solo PR that I would not enjoy or see as initial barriers. There is a lack of human interaction when it comes to working by yourself. Workers are not constantly beside you to bounce ideas off of.  Next it is important to consider your personal level of experience. For a college student, solo PR is most likely not a successful route. Claire Celsi, a woman who started The Public Relations Project, LLC consulting firm, says “Hard work is not a substitute for experience. As a senior PR counselor, people pay me for my expert opinion. If you haven’t got experience, a solo practice is not the route to go.”  Additionally, clients will not always fall into your lap, you need to be comfortable seeking them out and going into situations where you know no one. Jason Millica, another partaker of the solo PR journey, said, “If you think your name will just get business, you are wrong. I learned that some old-fashioned door-to-door visits work wonders.” In solo PR some experience a perception lacking in legitimacy because they are not working for a large corporation.  “You need to be sure of yourself, because you’re not going to get a lot of pats on the back in this line of work. And, there’s no corporate ladder to climb” (Hanson, 2011). Finally working in solo PR requires you to be prepared for economic downtown, learning to adapt to the market and start saving money now (Hanson, 2011).

Overall, I could see myself considering solo PR in the future. However, at this point in my life with the lack of experience of a college student, it would not be in my best interest to “be my own boss.”

Sources:c

Celsi, C. (2011, April 7). What it’s Like to Start a Solo PR Practice . In Public Relations Princess. Retrieved November 12, 2013, from http://www.publicrelationsprincess.com/2011/04/what-its-like-to-start-a-pr-practice.html

Hanson, A. (2011, September 20). The pros and cons of the solo PR life. In Communications. Retrieved November 12, 2013, from http://www.arikhanson.com/2011/09/20/the-pros-and-cons-of-the-solo-pr-life/

Mollica, J. (2013, March 7). Solo PR can be rewarding…and damn tough. In PR Breakfast Club. Retrieved November 12, 2013, from http://prbreakfastclub.com/2013/03/07/solo-pr-can-be-rewarding-and-damn-tough/#.UoKkynDku2J

Corp vs. Firm

Although working toward the same fundamental goal, firms and corporations approach public relations differently. Firms approach public relations for multiple companies while corporations work for their own company. According to eHow, the difference between public relations firms and corporations is, “strategic, monetary and resource-focused.” Public relations is an image investment and the PR professionals that handle it must be in sync with the mission of the company they are working for. Whether you assign your corporate messaging in-house or to a PR firm, the guiding goal is to use the most expertise voices available. In-house people usually believe they know the corporation best, but that is not always the case. In-house professionals often lack the understanding of what their corporation looks like from an outside perspective. The depth of understanding an in-house employee can provide is valuable when placing highly technical stories such as B2B journals and trade publications. However a PR firm can offer instant credibility to the media and offer experience in messaging and placement of that message across a broad range of industry categories. If a company is experiencing a period of growth, a firm specialist can save that company a great deal of time handling acquisition or new product launches leading to market penetration. This specialist can also save a company costly cultural messaging errors when participating in international expansion and product diversification.   When it comes to offensive versus defensive messaging, the communication from firms as opposed to corporations can come across differently to the public. When negative rumors spread about the leadership of a corporation, the in-house team can be a credible source to repair the damage. Alternatively, when a PR firm writes an offensive message, it can appear to improve perceived transparency of the company because it can signal a more pro-active stance to managing the corporation brand (Wondra, 2013). Authors like Jack O’Dwyer say PR firms are thriving, providing facts such as, “fifteen of the 25 biggest PR firms, had double-digit gains in 2012.” He goes on to say the talent in PR has gravitated to PR firms where independence and creativity flourish whereas working in corporate public relations is more by the books.  (O’Dwyer, 2013).

Sources:

Wondra, J. (2013). Difference Between Public Relations in Firms & Corporations . In eHow. Retrieved November 6, 2013, from http://www.ehow.com/about_6528108_difference-relations-firms-_amp_-corporations.html

O’Dwyers, J. (2013). Corporate PR is Dead. In O’Dwyers. Retrieved November 6, 2013, from http://www.odwyerpr.com/story/public/781/2013-07-08/corporate-pr-is-dead.html

Social Media

With the age of the internet being around 50 years old and the World Wide Web being 16, social media has incorporated all of the technologies developed over the time spanning from email through forums, instant messaging, file sharing and video transmission (Horton). Social media is a monster growing at an astounding rate. In today’s society, “If your company is not participating in social media today, it’s missing an opportunity to spread its message and missing valuable –and even damaging – conversations that could be taking place about your brand” (Seiple).

Social media is constantly changing the way we communicate. As social media progresses, it takes less and less time for one to publish on social media. In a matter of seconds someone can read a post/tweet from another individual across the world. Furthermore, social media can be used as a means to erase geographical barriers of communication.

According to author James Horton, when forming social media tactics and techniques, it is important to follow the proceeding steps:

1. Test: There should always be time set apart in PR to evaluate new technologies. Social media campaigns can supplement or in some cases replace traditional media campaigns, but their effectiveness can not be certain unless tested.

2. Plan: Planning includes developing a strategy and setting objectives, determining audiences and their characteristics, developing messages, list potential media, establish timelines and metrics.

3. Monitor: Monitoring social media means looking in depth to see if the participants are continuing to talk about relevant data that was first discussed.

4. Approach respectfully and carefully: Be sensitive to people’s genuine interests. If they are interested in your company’s content then pursue conversation, but if they are not interested leave them alone.

According to this infographic, taken from eBizMBA, the top social networking sites (in order) are Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

According to Digital Buzz Blog, 57 percent of people talk to people more online than they do in real life. One in every nine people on the planet are Facebook users. Almost 50 percent of 18-34 year olds check Facebook as soon as they wake up in the morning. Twitter, in a five year period, rapidly gained 300 million users, who are estimated to send about that many tweets a day. YouTube is an extremely popular medium of video clip communication, with one in four Americans watching videos online every day(Wilcox, Cameron, Weber, & Shin, 2013, p. 254-259).

   

Social media is increasingly going mobile as time goes on.  By 2014, mobile internet should overtake desktop Internet use. Mobile phones have become the most widely adopted communication devices on the planet. The widespread of smartphones has created an explosion of apps. By January of 2011, the Apple App Store had more than 400,000 apps. Quick response codes, also called QR codes, have also been widely accepted in mobile messaging, connecting to websites and any number of apps.

Sources

Horton, J. L. (2009). PR and Social Media. Online PR. Retrieved November 7, 2013, from http://www.online-pr.com/Holding/PR_and_Social_media.pdf

Seiple, Pamela. How to leverage social media for public relations success. Retrieved fromhttp://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/53/docs/hubspot_social_media_pr_ebook.pdf

Top 10 Most Popular Social Networks 2013 (2013). In Visual.ly. Retrieved October 27, 2013, from http://visual.ly/top-10-most-popular-social-networks-2013

Wilcox, Dennis L., Cameron, Glen T., Reber, Bryan H., Shin, Jae-Hwa. (2013). THINK: Public Relations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.

Health & Public Relations

“Healthcare is one of public relations biggest growth areas, generating about 20% of firm revenues. Healthcare public relations covers a number of sectors, including biotech, pharmaceuticals, animal health, vaccines, medical technology, and health care providers (Council of PR firms).” Healthcare clients primarily hire agencies to help them do things they can not do on their own, helping clients navigate the needs of patients in a time of shrinking budgets, growing demand and rapid change (Council of PR firms).

PR professional that work within healthcare are in charge of internal and external communications for a health care facility, interacting with physicians, nurses, managers, administrators, patients, etc. They must have exceptional writing skills and be held responsible for writing internal publications, creating various materials that promote services and taking media calls (Health Careers Center).

Hospitals, like Grand Rapid’s Spectrum or Metro, focus on four major publics: patients and their families, physicians and medical staff, new media, and the community as a whole (Wilcox, Cameron, Weber, & Shin, 2013, p. 383). The most recognizable private and government health agencies are administered at the federal and state levels such as Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).  Nonprofit agencies range from nationally known organizations such as the American Heart Association or the American Cancer Society to small groups like the Conservation, Food and Health Foundation in Boston. In fact, each state has a state-wide health agency. Within each state, many regions, counties, and cities provide taxpayer-supported health services (Wilcox, Cameron, Weber, & Shin, 2013, p. 383-384). Michigan’s health agency is the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH), whose mission is to, “protect, preserve, and promote the health and safety of the people of Michigan with particular attention to providing for the needs of vulnerable and under-served populations” (State of Michigan, 2013).

Many physicians communicate with their patients electronically these days using tools like WebMD, the leading site for consumers. Since such a large percent of Americans have access to the internet, nearly 67% of people believe they can find reliable health information via the web (Wilcox, Cameron, Weber, & Shin, 2013, p. 384).

Sources:

Council of PR firms. (2013). Healthcare. Council of Public Relations Firms. Retrieved from http://prfirms.org/inside-pr/healthcare

Health Careers Center. (n.d.). Health Care Communications Careers. Public Relations Society ofAmerica. Retrieved November 12, 2013, from
http://www.prsa.org/jobcenter/career_resources/resource_type/specialization_areas/healthcare_communications/

MCDH At A Glance (2013). In Michigan Department of Community Health. Retrieved October 14, 2013, from http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdch/MDCH_AtAGlance_421697_7.pdf

Wilcox, Dennis L., Cameron, Glen T., Reber, Bryan H., Shin, Jae-Hwa. (2013). THINK: Public Relations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.

Yahoo! Crisis

It is no secret Yahoo! corporation has gone through an identity crisis over the past few years. Yahoo! even experienced large layoffs such as the occurrence of letting go 2,000 employees, that is a 14 percent reduction in 2012, being the sixth major layoff in four years. Yahoo! has been rumored to be no longer one of the cool kids like Google and Facebook. Originally being known as the convenience store of the online world, they struggle to find their place anymore. People like to cherry-pick where they get their content from today instead of going to one source for it all (Hill, 2012). As Yahoo! has tried to establish where they fit, now calling themselves a tech company, they have made some mistakes along the way.

There are a number of mistakes Yahoo! has made. One of the first mistakes to turn heads was when Yahoo!’s CEO Marissa Mayer implemented the Work-from-home ban.  Although she has given away things like smartphones and free food to her employees, this was not her best move. Head of Human Resources, Jackie Reses, said “We need to be one Yahoo!, and that starts with physically being together” (Cohan, 2013). She argued by having all workers present together, it improves the quality of decisions and business ideas.  Although  some people’s jobs will be performed better with higher social interaction, others may actually be more productive working from home without disruptions. With implementing the policy of not letting employees work from their homes, this could lead to turnover in searching for other jobs that will accommodate their schedules. If Mayer’s goal was to downsize her employees, this could be a great tactic. It has also been proven that people who work from home are statistically less stressful than those who go into work, partially because they can better balance their home and work life as well as saving money and time by commuting. Along with several hundred employees driving to work at Yahoo! per day, leads to more air pollution (Cohan, 2013).  “It’s incredibly disappointing,” says Jennifer Owens, editorial director of Working Mother Media. “It’s a step backwards—a mindset from the days when Yahoo was launched” (Goudreau, 2013). Next Yahoo! decision to implement a username recycling program made it virtually impossible to retrieve an old user’s email. It was clear Yahoo! did not have the consumer in mind during this process.  When Yahoo! announced it’s 30-day logo change,  seemed to be the final touch on it’s identity crisis. Arguments had been made that could Yahoo! find anything better to spend their money on than a redesigned logo for 30 days (Garun, 2013)? It sounds like they are not doing enough homework, which results in indecisiveness. One last mistake falls when Yahoo! gained a 1.1 billion dollar acquisition of Tumblr in order to gain favor with a younger demographic. They spent a third of their entire cash holdings in order to do so.  They made some right decisions like not forcing Tumblr users to sign in with a Yahoo! account, but started showing tons of ads which lead to complaints (Garun, 2013).

Sources:

Cohan, P. (2013, February 26). 4 Reasons Marissa Mayer’s No-At-Home-Work Policy Is an Epic Fail. In Forbes. Retrieved September 23, 2013, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2013/02/26/4-reasons-marissa-mayers-no-at-home-work-policy-is-an-epic-fail/

Garun, N. (2013, August 7). 30 Different Logos? Yahoo’s Identity Crisis Just Hit a New Low. In Digital Trends. Retrieved September 23, 2013, from http://www.digitaltrends.com/social-media/yahoos-mid-life-crisis/

Goudreau, J. (2013, February 25). Back To the Stone Age? New Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer Bans Working From Home. InForbes. Retrieved September 23, 2013, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennagoudreau/2013/02/25/back-to-the-stone-age-new-yahoo-ceo-marissa-mayer-bans-working-from-home/

Hill, A. (2012, April). Yahoo’s Got an Identity Crisis. In Marketplace. Retrieved September 23, 2013, from http://www.marketplace.org/topics/business/yahoos-got-identity-crisis

Because It’s Worth It

Research is an essential part of the public relations process. Research is the necessary first step to any campaign plan. Typically, most companies spend about three to five percent of their budget on research, however, that three to five percent is going to direct where the rest of your 95 percent goes. Therefore, it better be good. Katie Paine, CEO of KD Paine and Partners, said, “We recommend that between five and ten percent of your budget should be spent on measurement. Doesn’t it make sense to spend that much to find out if the other 90-95 percent is doing anything for you” (Wilcox, Cameron, Reber, & Shin, 2013, p. 91).

Try justifying telling your company to spend $500,000 on their next project with no facts to back it up. Research, although not the thing that sparks you to jump out of bed in the morning, is invaluable. Research allows you to say bold statements like how pictures of women get more ‘likes’ on Facebook whereas men get more shares, according to ClickZ (Kelley, 2013). Typically, when I think about research, I think of locking myself in a room doing tedious work through various books, magazines, databases, etc. However, that is not always the case. In fact, three-fourths of people described their research techniques as casual and informal rather than scientific and precise, according to a survey done by the senior-vice president and director of research for Ketchum. Research that is unfolding new and original information is called primary research. Similarly, presentations that come from existing publications is called secondary research. Furthermore, research can be branched into two kinds of data: qualitative/ “soft” or quantitative/ “hard” data. Hard data, found to be more expensive and complicated, allows for a deeper understanding whereas soft data is usually valid, but unreliable. Although putting together hard data may be of higher difficulty, it is a sure-fire way to gain credibility (Wilcox, Cameron, Reber, & Shin, 2013, p. 94-95). In fact, it has been proven that 90 percent of companies problems originate internally rather than unexpected natural disasters or external issues. “Research can often uncover trouble spots and public concerns before they become news” (Wilcox, Cameron, Reber, & Shin, 2013, p. 94).

Research is an ongoing process of staying ahead of the game. In fact, I set up things like Google Alerts to automatically send me updates on the competitors in my industry at work so I can keep an eye on what is happening. “Research on the competition can be done with surveys that ask consumers to comment on competing products, content analysis of the competition’s media coverage, and reviews of industry reports in trade journals (Wilcox, Cameron, Reber, & Shin,  2013, p. 94).

So whether it is by means of focus groups, the Internet, copy testing, random sampling, telephone surveys, or web questionnaires, however you approach your research, I want to encourage you that it is worth it.

Sources:

Kelley, M. (2013, September 4). Images of Women Get More Facebook Likes, Men Get More Shares. In ClickZ. Retrieved from http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2293321/the-power-of-emotion-to-drive-purchase-intent?wt.mc_ev=click&WT.tsrc=Email&utm_term=&utm_content=The%20Power%20of%20Emotion%20to%20Drive%20Purchase%20Intent

Wilcox, Dennis L., Cameron, Glen T., Reber, Bryan H., Shin, Jae-Hwa. (2013). THINK: Public Relations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.

Evaluation of Public Opinion

Public opinion is a force to be reckoned with. It has the ability to call a group of people into action, rise a conflict, or unite a group in relation to an issue. With this idea, comes the rise of opinion leaders. These are folks who, “because of their knowledge of a subject, become experts and inform others either formally as spokespeople or informally through daily interactions with family members, colleagues, and peers” (Wilcox, Cameron, Weber, & Shin, 2013, p. 140). An opinion leader in one subject may not be recognized in another. These leader’s word-of-mouth can be very effective in shaping opinions. In fact, 90 percent of people say recommendations from friends are most trustworthy over things like brand websites, newspapers, search engine result ads, etc (Wilcox, Cameron, Reber, & Shin, 2013, p. 153).  Additionally,  opinion makers are at the heart of word-of-mouth communication. These people “derive large amounts of information from mass media and other sources and then share that information with people, who are labeled the ‘attentive publics'” (Wilcox, Cameron, Reber, & Shin, 2013, p. 141).  Attentive publics rely on the opinion leaders to interpret their information for them.  In contrast, inattentive publics are those unaware or uninterested in an issue (Wilcox, Cameron, Reber, & Shin, 2013, p. 141).

“Different people will perceive the same information differently, depending on their predispositions and preexisting opinions” (Wilcox, Cameron, Weber, & Shin, 2013, p.158).  Let’s face it, we all come from different demographics: age, ethnicity, income, education level, location, etc. We also come from different psychographics: lifestyles, values, and beliefs. If we exposed ourselves to the same newspapers, television shows and magazines the human race would look like a cookie cutter mold.

So if we are constantly interpreting issues differently, there is bound to be some conflict. Legal scholars define conflict as “any situation in which two or more individuals, groups, organizations, or communities perceive a divergence of interests” (Wilcox, Cameron, Reber, & Shin, 2013, p. 146).  But is conflict all that bad? It could lead you to a more creative solution or broaden your understanding. Sometimes conflicts are more newsworthy than their resolutions (Venkatesh, 2013).  It often leads to persuasion. Persuasion neutralizes an aggressive opinion, forms hidden opinions, and maintains favorable opinions. Persuasion can be comparable to negotiation, the process of settling a dispute between two or more parties reaching an agreement (Wilcox, Cameron, Reber, & Shin, 2013, p. 149).   “The media, by selecting stories and headlines, tell the public what to think about, albeit not necessarily what to think” (Wilcox, Cameron, Reber, & Shin, 2013, p. 144). This is their way of setting the agenda and framing stories. However, not all countries experience the same freedom to access information as others. In China, the Golden Shield (also referred to as “The Great Firewall of China”) censors content the Chinese government sees as offensive. Terms and topics like Falun Gong, Tiananmen Square, freedom of the press, etc (Wilcox, Cameron, Weber, & Shin, 2013, p. 145). For more information on the Golden Shield check on this article from the New York Times (Tatlow, 2013).

With access to endless information, it is important to evaluate a topic from multiple sources to create an unbiased, educated opinion.

Sources:

Tatlow, D. K. (2013, June 28). U.S. Prism, Meet China’s Golden Shield. In New York Times. Retrieved from  http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/28/u-s-prism-meet-chinas-golden-shield/?ref=internetcensorship&_r=0

Venkatesh, S. (2013, March 19). How to Use Conflict to Unlock Creativity. In Fast Company. Retrieved from http://www.fastcocreate.com/1682575/how-to-use-conflict-to-unlock-creativity

Wilcox, Dennis L., Cameron, Glen T., Reber, Bryan H., Shin, Jae-Hwa. (2013). THINK: Public Relations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.