Three ways communicators can use technology effectively

Technology has forever changed the way PR pros communicate with their audiences.

PR pros connect to consumers through more than just focus groups or email; they also hear from them on Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat.

Added to pitching and securing interviews is an emphasis on content creation. Communicators must solve crises faster than ever before. The staggering amount of tools available to help PR pros complete tasks can be overwhelming.

However, these three insights—from Jason Musante, group executive creative director and managing director at Havas New York, and from Thomas Crampton, global managing director of social media at Ogilvy, can help PR pros use online platforms successfully:

1. Social media is no longer optional.

No matter the organization or client, PR pros must learn to embrace social media communications-including the technology behind their chosen platforms.

“You don’t need a social media strategy,” Crampton says. “You need social media within your strategy—which is to say that you can no longer think of social media as a separate add-on, as something that you bring in at the last minute. Social media has to be core to what you are doing. ”