September has arrived in full swing with back-to-school preparations, football-related programming, and dreams of pumpkin spice lattes. One September event that I look forward to (more than any kind of latte!) is the release of the next generation iPhone. This month, Apple is unveiling a major redesign of the iPhone, but most importantly, this year marks the 10th anniversary of the device that has forever changed the way consumers – and PR professionals – are connected to a mobile device.  

As a diehard iPhone user who has watched Steve Jobs’ iconic 2007 keynote address countless times, I recently took a moment to reflect on this ten-year milestone. Since its conception, the iPhone has been a catalyst for the widespread adoption of smartphones; it has also played a pivotal role in mobile app development and social media consumption. The opportunities to discuss the impact of the iPhone are endless, but I want to highlight three ways that the iPhone has changed the way we practice PR.

1. The evolution of the 24 hour news cycle.  

Steve Jobs, in his 2007 keynote address, called the iPhone, “a revolutionary and magical product that is literally five years ahead of any other mobile phone.” As this device gained popularity, the smartphone industry exploded to challenge Apple’s quick tripling of its market share. It is no surprise that smartphones rapidly caught on with consumers, but even Jobs could not have foreseen the extent of its adoption. Indeed, according to Pew Research, 77 percent of Americans (roughly 242.3 million people) own a smartphone.

In the past, access to breaking news and information was limited to the evening news and newspaper printing press schedules. Now, there are 242 million people in the United States alone that have access to the worldwide web in their pocket. This means that there are 242 million people seeking the most immediate and compelling news from more publications, blogs, apps and online sources than ever before.

Journalists and PR professionals have had to drastically adapt their practices to cater to this demand for information as well as the vast number of news sources. Because news never stops in our digital age, reporters are in intense competition among other news outlets to be the first to report breaking news.

The constant, high demand for news means that PR professionals have to work harder to get their companies and clients to stand out from all of the constant, competing noise on the internet.

2. There are now incredible opportunities to form relationships with journalists.

The popularity of social media, undoubtedly aided by the development of smartphone applications, has created unparalleled opportunities for PR professionals to connect and form relationships with journalists.

Many reporters are plagued with hundreds of irrelevant emails and pitches every day. While there are still those PR professionals who won’t do their research, the advent of social media has made it easier to find the perfect beat reporter match for the story they are trying to place. Twitter can be an excellent resource to find out more about a reporter’s interests, which industries and companies that reporter typically writes about, and if you have any mutual connections. These three elements combined help foster that incredibly important and coveted personal connection. A 2014 PRSA study sums it up it perfectly, “Overall, social media helps you see what kind of person a reporter is.”

3. The rise of consumer co-created messages.

With a powerful, pocket-sized machine in millions of people’s pockets, the volume of user-generated content on the internet has skyrocketed. As digital marketing firm Brolik describes it, “…smartphones have allowed us to create that content (with cameras and keyboards) and post it to social media (with Internet connectivity) at almost any time. The result is an unprecedented ability to create and interact with content all day, every day for the over 50% of Americans who, according to the Pew Research Center, have a smartphone and use it for social networking.” Now, in our digital age, anyone can say anything about anyone. This is both a PR pro’s dream, and worst nightmare. The viral nature of social media makes it too easy for a worst-case scenario to become a part of the daily news cycle.

Take the NYPD, for example, when it attempted to leverage co-created content by encouraging Twitter users to send photos of themselves with officers using the hashtag #myNYPD. Unfortunately, a steady stream of photos demonstrating police brutality and racial profiling surged through Twitter in response. If the NYPD had taken the time to asses the risk of this kind of co-created content, the adverse reaction of the public might have been anticipated, and the campaign would either have been adapted or cut entirely.

With no control over the content of the message, it is the PR pro’s duty to insert his or her client’s point-of-view into the conversation. In the case of the NYPD, it was important for them to have already established a personality on Twitter, rather than blasting information and hoping for the best. Dan Tisch, chairman of the Global Alliance for Public Relations and  Management, shared some thoughts regarding smartphones and co-created content in a New York Times interview, “In a world where the ordinary consumer is walking around with global publishing power in his or her pocket, the role of public relations has shifted from creating content to attempting to influence the content that’s created by others.”

 

While you won’t see me camping outside of the Apple store for days prior to the release, you better believe I will be upgrading. The iPhone 8 is likely to have a radical redesign from its earlier counterparts, leaving new opportunities for society to evolve along with it. Who knows where this new generation of iPhones will take PR professionals – most likely somewhere unimaginable.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tags: Apple, Communique PR, iPhone, iPhone 8, Media, Media Relations, PR, Smartphones, Social media, Technology, Twitter Filed under: COMMUNIQUÉ PR, Consumer, Social media, Tech Industry