Role of Social Media in Public Relation Development - Essay Example

? Final Essay Introduction Journalism, mass media, communication and public relation are said to be two sides of a single coin. Public Relation (PR) is generally the way an organization, company or an individual communicates with the general public. I firmly believe that the acceptance of social media for improving PR has been rapidly increasing in the present aspects. But, I also believe that it is equally important to consider the impact of social media on the general public when applying it for the purpose of PR. Discussion Today’s world is not limited to television or newspapers only. With the growth and development in the information and communication technology, people are moving at a much faster pace. Simultaneously, the growth of social networking sites and increasing population of internet users around the globe has made a significant impact on PR sectors. Advanced Desktop Publishing (DTP) is one such development in this sector which has immensely helped in spreading information in an attractive manner without spending much time of reader’s (Sriramesh & Versis, n.d.). Advanced DTP is a tool which makes it possible to create newsletters, reports and even books with the help of a personal computer and proper software. The basic idea of DTP is to publish a, attractive and unambiguous documentation of particular information, so that any user can be conversant of the article with ease. I strongly believe that it is an effective way of spreading information within a short period of time (Wang, n.d.). Correspondingly, the main advantages of adopting advanced DTP by any organization in its PR strategies can be illustrated as cost and efficiency. In my point of view, one of the potential advantages of advanced DTP can be associated with limited requirement of experts to perform the task. The use of advanced DTP can be performed by any individual having minimum knowledge of computer applications. Consequently, it saves significant cost by minimizing the need for assistance from professionals in involving information communication technology as a tool for PR (Wang, n.d.). Similarly, another benefit of advanced DTP can be attributed with the time factor. In this context, it can be postulated that instead of spending time on having a correction with the outside printer, with the use of advanced DTP the documents can be previewed resulting in minimized wastage of resources as well as time efficiency to communicate the intended message (Wang, n.d.). The new forms of media have undoubtedly turned out to be vital aspects for any organization in spreading messages or communicating with the general public through effective PR strategies. Apparently, as per my understanding, the relation between the PR industry and the news media is continually strengthening. The development of modern information and communication technology has changed many of the dynamics between PR and traditional way of communicating with publics (Larsson, 2009). I firmly admit that the development in information and communication technology has benefited the PR industry to a great extent. Development in sectors like database, DTP and e-mail technologies have provided ease to PR department by making the communication process much faster and more effective than the past. Apparently, PR, as an industry, has become much important than it was in the traditional era. Today, the increase in media sector is generally seen through PR industry. It can be said that a decade ago, the media was less dependent on PR industry as there were only a few newspapers, television channels and few occasional magazines to be published. However, the condition today has dramatically changed over the years. Consequently, the need of PR has increased to a great extent where technology has become one of the many considerable factors that have significantly facilitated the PR industry to rapidly grow in the 21st century (Trotman Publishing, 2001). The knowledge of advance DTP is considered as one of the most important aspects for a PR publisher. The primary task of a PR is to work as an advocate for an organization that wishes to build positive relation with the general public. It is considered in this regard that the job role of a desktop publisher is one of the fastest growing occupations around the globe. Most of these professionals are employed to handle business or commercial printing in newspaper or media industry. In this context, I remember a well-known saying, “A picture worth’s thousand words”, which seems to be fit for describing the effectiveness of advanced DTP in post-modern PR. Accordingly, I believe that colorful pages are efficient enough to attract more readers than the plain texts. Thus, the implementation of advance DTP can immensely help in attracting more readers with more coherent meaning and with immense ease (Trotman Publishing, 2001). Depending on the need of different business organizations, there are several forms of DTP software and hardware developed, ranging from the basic level for small business firms to more complicated professional levels. The devices which are fundamentally required in the process of DTP include a computer, a scanner and a laser printer (Trotman Publishing, 2001). The commonly used software systems, for DTP involvement in PR strategies, have been ascertained below. Page layout software: It is software used for combining all design elements like graphics and formatting. It is basically used to design a marketing page or a book. The most common tool used by PR in the process of DTP is ‘Quark Inc.'s QuarkXpress’ (Quark Software Inc, 2013). Image editors: Image software is used for cropping and editing pictures to make it more attractive which can result in instant effect on the reader. The most common software used for this function of DTP is Adobe Photoshop (Adobe Systems Software, 2013). Vector drawing software: This software is used to create original illustration and designs of the virtual characters used in the document. Adobe Illustrator is one of the most common software used by desktop publishers (Adobe Systems Software, 2013). Conclusion As per my understanding, the increasing technology and modern facilities has contributed towards rapid growth of many organizations. It is where industries, like mass media, play a very important role in maintaining PR, as the only way to connect with a large unit of people within shortest possible span. The invention of modern technology like DTP has thus made it easier for industries to maintain a good relation with public providing solution to complicated forms of spreading news. Thus, it can be concluded that advanced DTP serves as an efficient way to communicate with general public and radically contribute towards establishing greater efficiency in PR. References Adobe Systems Software. (2013). Adobe creative cloud. Retrieved from http://www.adobe.com/in/products/illustrator.html Larsson, L. (2009). PR and the Media. A Collaborative Relationship 30(1), pp. 1-18. Quark Software Inc. (2013). Quarkxpress. Retrieved from http://www.quark.com/Products/QuarkXPress/ Sriramesh, K. & Versis, d. (n.d.). The mass media and public relation. Retrieved from http://globalpr.bledcom.com/uploads/files/Chapter4.pdf Trotman Publishing. (2001). Public relation. Great Britain: Crimson Publishing. Wang, S. C. (n.d.). Desktop publishing. 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