PR and Marketing Allied in a College Digital Setting

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By: Doug Bedell

An example of how closely public relations and marketing are allied in this increasingly digital era is provided by Karine Joly on the collegewebeditor.com site. Karine posts an interview with Nancy Prater, marketing and communications director at Ball State University's Extended Education (online) branch. Subject: Digital advertising in higher education, once your aim is set.

"We have done at least a little bit of everything," Nancy says, "—Google AdWords, Facebook ads, LinkedIn ads, display advertising on large or niche web sites, etc...With each campaign, we carefully consider our target audience demographics, and if we think online advertising is appropriate, we think about and try to learn where these audiences are "living" online. And, of course, cost is a significant factor. For instance, we have a growing online master's degree in public relations. People who are interested in advancing their careers in PR might be members of, or at least regularly visit the website of the Public Relations Society of America, so that has proved to be a good place to start..."

Sometimes the digital emphasis, which can seem to be relationship with a screen more than the people behind it, bothers us. But if you trouble to keep foremost in mind the people you're interested in and how to reach them, you can keep breathing life into your digital campaigns. Hence the importance of PR — relational factors — in digital settings.

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About the Author

Doug Bedell has a background in journalism and PR and is the proprietor of Resource Relations in Central PA, which focuses on organizational communication, crisis communication, and social media. His blog, “Beetles Beat,” can be found at www.ResourceRelations.com. On Twitter, he’s DougBeetle.

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