Firms on the Public Relations New York Scene Survive Difficult Year

During difficult economic times, often one of the first items to get cut is the public relations budget. Or on worst case: eliminated completely. And nowhere have the effects of these cuts been felt more than on the Public Relations New York scene. Firms have cut staffs, cut salaries and instituted hiring freezes. Are cuts in public relations budgets a good idea? This actually can do more harm than good and result in loss of brand position, market share, customer inquiries and so forth. Competitors - particularly those that have maintained spending on public relations - may actually gain position at your expense. When the economy is on the downturn, it is prudent and perhaps even necessary to reorganize and cut various budgets and even staff. However, it is wise to take a good long look at what the company’s priorities are before making potentially rash and harmful decisions. PR is no longer a luxury and has become essential. Particularly as many industries, most notably the financial services industry, seek to restore trust with the American public. Public relations continues to be one of the most efficient ways of reaching customers, old and new. Far more so than advertising, which many people distrust. What firms on the Public Relations New York scene have learned is how to do more with less for their clients. One way to stretch those budgets is through the use of social media. The world of social media is exploding at an exponential rate. Social media not only gives people the chance to air their opinions and share commentary with others, it also gives companies, politicians, celebrities, and others a way to communicate directly with the public. Public Relations New York firms and others are advised to look at a recent Deloitte & Touche survey. The study reveals that 36% of Internet users read personal content created by other people. MySpace is widely held to be a haven for teenagers, but in reality, more than 67% of the people using MySpace are age 26 or older. The average blogger is about 37 years old, and 38% of Facebook users are older than 35. Clearly the phenomenon that is social media is never going to go away. A trend for Public Relations New York firms and others is that the growing popularity of social media will most likely continue once the recession is over, perhaps reducing the importance of other elements in the marketing arsenal such as advertising. Redeploying portions of a reduced public relations budget to incorporate a solid social media strategy now is essential for companies who want to be able to leverage that strategy onward into the future as the global community continues to expand.