Recently during NY Internet Week I had the pleasure of having dinner with Brian Solis [@briansolis] (among others) where Nicole Jordan [@nicolejordan] joined us. Nicole began speaking about how she has resorted to calling what she does as ‘integrated communications’. Brian proceeded to say that that’s just another way of saying ‘public relations’. He should know more than anyone else as he wrote ‘Putting The Public Back In Public Relations.’ The question that came out of our conversation is this: Is it time to stop calling it PR and call it anything else?

Public relations, integrated communications, holistic branding- they all speak about conveying your core values in a message for others. When you ask most people what they think of the word PR many will tell you ‘spin’ or press release.  As a communications professional you will need to use spin in crisis situations but not all the time. And yes, you will need to send out press releases but these two tactics do not make a public relations professional.

“There is no doubt in my mind that eventually all PR agencies and consultants will follow suit and transform from publicity firms into New Media communications and marketing organizations rich with in house or contracted content producers, digital sociologists, research librarians, community managers, digital architects, connectors, and industry experts/strategists.” ~Brian Solis. It may not be long until all PR professionals are new media agents just as he predicts.

Social media has changed the discipline of communications forever. Instead of corporations talking at you, they’re now attempting to talk with you. Social media is now used professionally by many different corporations successfully- Dell, Whole Foods, Ford, Pepsi, among others. Some have had social media backlash against them (Motrin) while others use social media as a shiny new toy (Skittles). In order for social media tactics to ring true you must weave them in at the base level to reflect your core values.

This is how social media has returned public relations to its roots.

The stigma of the word ‘PR’ may be so great that we may need to stop focusing on what we are called and focus on what we do. What do we stand for? How is that being reflected in what we do? What can we offer others? This is the key.

Gone are the days where you can use a channel of communications to say ‘look at me’. If you can’t use those same channels to say ‘look, it’s me, i’m here for you’ then you’re toast. People get right away when someone isn’t being genuine. We have too much stimulus and not enough time in today’s world. For you to stand out from the crowd you must be true to what you stand for and only want to help those who align with you.

It doesn’t matter what you call it- PR, public relations, integrated communications, holistic branding. What matters is that you make sure your client’s communications are synced across every single platform (design, branding, marketing, advertising, social media, etc).

The hucksters and the spin-doctors have ruined the good name of PR by taking the focus off of the public and putting it on themselves. It’s not about me me me or you you you. It’s about us us us.

Doing business at all costs is no longer viable. Doing business at the best costs is the new modus operandi. Regardless of what you call the discipline the ones who will get ahead will be those who can align their values with their customers. And that’s the truth.