The evolution of technology has made sure that the companies are able to create effective relationships with the audiences that they serve.  It has change the way that public relations professionals send messages and changed the communication from one-way to two-way communication.  This is seen through the social media, blogs and websites.  The companies are beginning to encourage participation and sharing amongst the audience members.

The two-way communication is more of a conversation than public relations professionals sending messages to a mass audience.  Now the messages are more individualized.  This helps to create the relationships and maintain them because the people will no longer be receiving information that does not pertain to them.  Also the online presence of these companies can help them to see and acknowledge the naysayers.  Building credibility is one of the main goals of being involved in social media and other media outlets.  “Reputation can be seen as an aggregation of lots of individual opinions, some derived from personal experience (‘I bought one of those cars and it was always breaking down’) but more often a synthesis of fragments of information derived from a wide range of sources, some more accurate than others (‘I haven’t been there myself but I have heard…’)” (Phillips and Young, 2009, p. 4).

The fact that the audience receives reviews from numerous sources means that the companies must be aware of what is being said about them, to respond accordingly.  This is why the public relations professionals must create a presence online.

These companies have these links on their pages as well for their followers to post reviews, hopefully positive ones, and it will be seen by potential consumers.  The share icons can boost the traffic that comes to the websites because of what the public has shared with their friends.

All of this information has shown the goals of the public relations field with the changes in technology.  The companies need a person that is versatile and is able to work with a number of different platforms.

References

Daoud, H. (2011). 5 large companies that consider social media a must. Retrieved from Website: http://www.hqsocialmedia.com/5-large-companies-that-consider-social-media-a-must/

Phillips, D., & Young, P. (2009). Online public relations: A practical guide to developing an online strategy in the world of social media. London: Kogan Page.

Roberts, K. G. (2009). Public Relations Outline. Review Of Communication, 9(1), 91-94. doi:10.1080/15358590802074787

Soni, R. 4 effective ways to boost traffic by adding social share buttons. Retrieved from Website: http://blog.loginradius.com/2014/11/4-effective-ways-boost-traffic-social-share-buttons/