Public Relations in a digital era (video of keynote address)

Video of the keynote speech delivered at the Digital Summit in Kolkata. (June 2012).

Public Relations in the digital era.

Public Relations in the digital age - (keynote address at Engage - The Digital Summit), Kolkata

Today was a day among digital stalwarts. Mr. Jawahar Sircar, Chairman, Prasar Bharati declared the summit open and spoke about the legacy of the organization that he recently took over - AIR, the government's FM channel, and Doordarshan - the free-to-air channel that still covers 40% cable homes in India. Anurag Batra, Chairman, exchange4media, was the first keynote who spoke about the growth of digital with inimitable panache, followed by Mahesh Murthy, CEO, Pinstorm, who showed how necessary it is to listen to  digital conversation and how to make sense of it. Vikramaditya Sinha, Director, Online, The Nielson Company was next and Narendra Nag and Geetanjali of Naked Communications followed after. There are several other greats I missed listening to, but just the first half of the day made my trip to Kolkata well worth it. (for a list of all the speakers and other details see http://www.engagedigitalsummit.com/speakers.php?page=speakers)


A gist of my keynote on the topic of 'PR in the digital age' is given here:

"Several speakers before me today have told us about the importance and nuances of the digital medium. My talk connects the institution that is the platform for today's event, PRSI, and the topic of the event, Digital Summit, and shows the intimate connection between digital medium and Public Relations. 


We know how the digital age is defined by an extremely high degree of interconnectedness, instantaneous communications, and its inherent capacity explosion or implosion capacity - the ability for things on the internet to significantly propel or impede any idea, organization, person or brand. 


Some inventions are life-changing - implying that life changes as a consequence of these inventions. The steam-engine, printing press are examples of such inventions and the Internet is one such. Our lives have changed forever. 


Due to the Internet, every person has an opportunity to be a part of a world changing idea. Each person can influence any other connected person, pushing their ideas and thoughts into people they have never met or even known. The small can kill the gargantuan and the new can hit at the belly of the established. We live in an world in which everyone has information access and its arbitrage alone can no longer be an advantage. Its how we process and use this information that is the key. 


Let us see if you can identify this  definition, and I'll ask you to tell me what it defines after you listen to it:
'It brings our complex, pluralistic society to reach decisions and it helps us function more effectively, contributing to mutual understanding and sharing. It brings private and public into harmony'


What do you think this defines? 


It sounds extremely close to social media, it almost sounds like it can also be used for defining the internet system as a whole. But, this is actually a definition for Public Relations!


Surprised? Well - Public Relations has always been about having 'important others' to project your point of view. Almost exactly what we are all attempting digitally. So, if you see, the advent of the internet has not dramatically changed what PR practitioners have been doing for decades - the digital era is just an extended way of life for Public Relations professionals. 


If we finally cut all the clutter, PR typically attempts to build two things, Reputation and Popularity. While the definition of Reputation has been attempted by previous speakers and its importance is understood in by digital professionals, Popularity is an extremely aspect common to PR and digital world as well. Let me define this first. 


Popularity can be loosely defined as the degree of 'likability' by a significant many. Does this remind you of a button that you click often? 


Reputation also is very important, but I would define it differently from the way other speakers have sought to. This all important indicator of social-worth, is the transmitted belief about attitudes of respect of something. Transmission being the operative word in the sentence. 


Media scrutiny is something all PR professionals are used to. All messages, stories have to be whetted by the media so that it is in line with the needs of the readers. Something like a moderated internet. All they need to do now, is cater to the needs of this reader/viewer audience directly. Digital just got PR  a little tighter, that's all. 


I now outline 6 steps that will help any organization to make their PR effective. But apart from this, it will also make them more suitable for the digital era automatically. Lets see what these important points are: 


1. Self awareness: Several of the audience has asked previous speakers, 'Must we tell it as it is?'. Well, I answer it a little differently. First you must know yourself. Its like the answer to the ubiquitous question, 'Who am I?' And once you know yourself, be yourself. It will help build organizational self confidence, and resultant self-respect.  


2. Principled approach & Transparency: This implies that the brand or organization act according to the self-awareness. If I were to ask you the owners of the brand Maggi, you may say Nestle. But it is you, as the users of the product, the consumers, the influencers, the brand participants who are the true owners of the brand. If the custodians of the brand (legal owners of the brand) act such that all action is such that it benefits these 'real owners', such action will be in line with this rule. It leads to self-regulation and greater belief in the brand. 


3. Criticism - self and from others: Public Relations and also the brands digital foray require one to be self-critical. This is a self-improvement method that allows continuous betterment. The other part, the ability to take external criticism builds resilience from others. After all, we must believe and know that there will always be the 'other point of view'. Once the brand has the ability to take criticism, society considers it to be dependable, and gives it more 'likability' and 'transmission'. 


4. Organizational humility: Humility is the sign of greatness. When it comes to the unfettered field of brands, it becomes even more important. It is shown by an absence of vanity, lack of selfish interests. When brands become all embracing and understand the 'law of unintended consequences' they become more humble. The unintended consequences is of two types. First, when the brand knows that what it achieves is not just a consequence of its own actions; and many others, even those unknown to it, affect in unintended ways. Second, it must  also know that the brand has the ability to affect similar others in unintended but positive ways. It must act with this belief, and when it does, it is on a path to greatness. 


5. Commitment: Showing commitment is the showing the will that makes winners. It is evident in sportsmen, where years of training is required to participate in one event, the result of which is totally indeterminate. That is commitment. It is infectious and spreads in society like a positive contagion. The world loves anything with commitment, and society tries to emulate anything with commitment. 


6. Sensitivity: This answers the question 'how must one act' in Public Relations and in the digital world. It must be with a deep and genuine caring for all the 'true owners' of the brand. The world of unintended audience must be embraced. 


Employ these 6 factors in what you do in the digital world, as they are only extensions of what the PR world has perfected over decades.