Public Relations has often been portrayed as “the power behind the throne.”  The voice that whispers sage counsel to those in leadership positions.

In part this makes sense: “power” in the raw sense depends on the willingness of underlings to obey their marching orders.  Revolutions occur when the masses (including employees, Boards of Directors, etc.) decide that their leaders are incompetent or untrustworthy. 

Thus, “public relations” is a way to ensure that powerful forces bend to the will of the people … or at least come across that way!

But as the era of socialized communications dawns, it’s no longer acceptable for PR pros to shrug their way out of troubling situations with the lame excuse that, “I’m just the PR person.”

We’re out in the open. The advice of the “grand vizier” is no longer a whisper but is essentially shouted with a bullhorn.  Journalists and bloggers will publish our pitches, our names, our mistakes, without hesitation.  Our case studies are critiqued in public.  Our agency/client affiliations are increasingly hard to keep under wraps … which means that every client communications flap now reflects on the PR counsel, fairly or not.

Embrace this, fellow PR professional.  Do not despair!  We’re actually pretty darned smart.  There may be some clueless flacks among us, but let’s be honest: there are a fair number of clueless people in all corporate job functions.  In the main, we know our stuff; it is okay if the world knows and appreciates this, so long as the majority of the benefits acccrue to our clients.

You’re not “just” the PR person, not anymore.  More and more, you are the proud & public standard-bearer for the brands you serve, even while working agency-side.  Knowing this, yes, you must train harder.  Then you can jump fearlessly into the sunlight of Social Media.

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