When you first read my title, you might have laughed at it. How could books be a public relations trend? I was shocked too, until I did my research. Books have been around for centuries, they continue to grow more into less simple story books into great novels that eventually get turned into movies. You also have books from famous icons of how they started their career and how we can be just like them if we “follow our dreams.” Books come in many different types including a hard cover paper format or an online book or even through a kindle. Books are growing into a big trend that will continue to grow in 2017.
According to John Hall who is a forbes contributor, wrote an article on public relations trends that will help you dominate 2017. One of the trends he wrote was on books. He was just as shocked as you and I, but he thought books have earned a place on the “good PR” checklist. A very interesting point John brought up was that books allow you to go in depth with a lot of details on the information you are writing about. You can’t go into much details with online articles because then it would turn into a book. Also, most people who read articles like them for the reason that they’re not as long as a book. However, for those who read the articles and want to go more in depth, then they can read a book about it.
John Hall brought up three major points on this idea of having books as a public relations trend in 2017. The first point he brought up was “Books can overcome trust barriers and help attract other PR opportunities to you and your company.” When hosting an event, you can hand out books to your audience and that will give them a trusting relationship with you because you mean what you say. When you have written words in a long format, that means that have a lot to say to you and they want to build a trusting foundation with you. The second point was “Books can be used as assets to send to brand advocates and other important people you have relationships with, like investors, conference organizers, and contributors.” Books can also build relationships with other companies and organizations. This is important especially when working on a project together. You want to have positive outlook on your company for brand advocates to get your book to the public. The third point he made was “A book can position your company as a knowledge-driven environment, not just a sales-driven one.” Some people view companies as companies who just want to make money. A book is a great way to make money especially when it sells to more than a million people. If you want to sell a book from your company, make sure the public knows that it is isn’t about how much money they can make off of this book. It’s about letting the public know information that you think they should know.
Technology in Public Relations and Advertising 