Public Relations in the Digital Age

The landscape of the communications industry has changed.

Marketing is about spreading ideas, and spreading ideas is the single most important output of our civilization. – Seth Godin

Well respected news anchors are forced into retirement by blogs, MP’s get hundreds of emails on a single topic, and organizations raise thousands of dollars online.  Readership of newspapers and the viewership of TV news are plummeting.  Some demographics spend more time surfing the net than in front of the TV.  Some of the biggest news stories start on citizen published blogs.  We are now in the days where the ‘alternative’ media can overwhelm the ‘traditional’ media.

It is no exaggeration to say that with the growth of the internet, the PR industry is undergoing the biggest change since the advent of TV & nightly news.  While this change has been taking place over the last decade, it is only over the last few years that the full power of the tools at hand is beginning to be realized.  It is now about much more than just having a website.

Social Activists have been quick to adopt what the online world has to offer.  They are blogging about their latest cause, setting up web sites to attack the most recent success story, and harnessing the power of the internet to raise money, organize, and build a personal following.

Over the last few years, new tools have emerged and/or have become mainstream.  These tools are effective if used correctly, and can be powerful allies in the persuasion game.  Pay per Click marketing can track searches and send traffic to a web-site.  Web analytics can tell you what questions or issues were on people’s minds, how they found your site, and whether they were motivated to take some action.  Blogs, emails, and RSS feeds can keep a lot of people in touch and ensure new information travels fast, or ‘goes viral’.

If you have a mandate to get a message out, there is no more effective way to do it than when people are specifically looking for the information that you have to provide.  The new online communications methods also are unprecedented in their targetability and trackability.  They can also be comparatively inexpensive.  Campaign effectiveness can be measured to an unprecedented degree.

The New PR toolbox – Products we can help with.

Make sure your web site is found:

Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click Campaigns, Link building, and writing for keywords can all drive interested individuals to your site when they are looking for information.

Makes sure your web sites are effective & successfully gather information

Through web analytics you can make sure that visitors to your site find the information they need and have a chance to sign up for more information on a regular basis.  Through analytics, surveys, and tracking, gather information about your visitors, where they came from, and their concerns.  You can use this information to make your web site more effective.  Monitor and make your client’s websites effective with excellent usability and potentially podcasts or videos.  Test messages.

Rapid Response:

Be prepared to tackle an issue right away – optimize information pages on your web site, set up a pay per click campaign to track searches and web visits, set up a survey.  Get your message out fast with news releases to the blogosphere, e-zines, and direct email to key stakeholders, constituents, or customers.  All of this can be done within a few hours.

Online news release distribution

In many areas, in addition to the traditional press, there is, and is going to be an increasing number of Blogs, websites, and E-zines that are potentially willing to publish your story.  These mediums often do not have the restrictions on content size that traditional media has.

Email campaigns.

Your website can be used to build email lists, programs to regularly communicate with the list or sub-sets of the list can be set up.  With the right cause, those on your list can help you campaign or lobby.

Monitoring

Monitor the online world – other websites, wikis, and particularly the Blogosphere for information and mis-information and respond if warranted.