The ManicaPost
Beatrice Tonhodzayi : Business Correspodent
Public relations practitioners have been urged to take advantage of new media platforms in particular social media which has a wide reach, to create a mutual understanding between their organisations and their public.Zimpapers Chief Technology Officer Mr. Darlick Marandure made these remarks during a breakfast meeting for public relations practitioners organized by the Zimbabwe Institute of Public Relations (ZIPR) in Harare.
He said social media has become key in communicating organisational agendas and marketing organisational products and services, adding that traditional media organisations such as newspapers, analogue radio and television have also diversified their operations to incorporate use of new media platforms to attract audiences.
Mr. Marandure’s remarks come at a time when new media has taken the world by storm especially platforms like Whatsapp, Twitter and Face book.
“The invention of the Internet revolutionised information gathering, production and consumption especially as information is now freely available on the worldwide web.
“Due to this availability of information; a lot of people have migrated to online platforms to get their content free of charge and there are content aggregators who are more than happy to provide this content creating new online markets that advertisers are flocking to. Businesses cannot afford to ignore this development,” he said.
Because people use different social media platforms, Mr. Marandure said there is need to have a strategy that covers all platforms.
He also cautioned PR practitioners who attended the meeting to use social media carefully and responsibly however; saying misconstrued tweets and posts can result in damaged corporate and personal reputations.
He said because social media is real time; there is need to manage social media round the clock; extracting information to enable management to make decisions.
“There should also be a policy that guides the use of social media in organisations which the PR department should incorporate as part of a broader Communications Policy.”
The Zimpapers CTO went on to challenge public relations practitioners to be true corporate ambassadors for their organisations saying the PR role should strive to create a winning culture within their organisations.
At a time when few Zimbabwean businesses can afford to tell good stories both to internal and external publics; Mr. Marandure said PR practitioners should share good stories and build relationships that will bring about success.
“PR people must understand that their job can often make the difference between closing shop and staying in business.
“It is important to note that people do not buy goods and services but solutions, relationships, stories and magic,” he advised.
The breakfast meeting is one of several initiatives that ZIPR lines up for PR practitioners throughout the year.
