Bev Barnett, principal
408 314 7608
email

after nearly 100 years, public relations is finally about working directly with the public

I remember watching the Miss USA pageant back in the early 1980s when I first started working in public relations. In their interviews, one of the candidates would inevitably say she wanted to go into public relations because she liked people.

I rolled my eyes and went back to the task of analyzing messages, identifying target media, crafting pitches, writing press release, smiling and dialing.... and never once talking directly to the people impacted by my client's products.

The world of marketing communications has shifted dramatically over the past several years. We've broken past the gatekeepers. Through social media, we're communicating directly with customers and other stakeholders. Its what they expect.

The media is no longer evaluated solely on depth of its reporting. PR is no longer the the keeper of corporate messaging. The blogosphere, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook ... these are the aspects of social media that determine how a brand is perceived. Understanding the conversations that are already happening - and knowing how to enter them gracefully - is the key to success in the world of social media.