Keeping Track of the Changes: PR on the Web

Nearly every day, there are new discoveries that bring to mind how the Internet has changed a lot of our communication traditions. In its arena alone, the web offers a lot of ways for two or more people to communicate. Needless to say, the Internet is one of the fastest growing technologies, one that has obviously affected a lot of communication professionals, especially public relations practitioners.

Upon the Internet’s breakthrough, it also became the major prospect in terms of communication. Now, I believe, there are a lot of readers online than readers of any major print publication. The reason behind this is that the Internet is fast, easy to access, has a wide coverage of information, and definitely free. This is also the reason why PR professionals have gone online to transform their “PR jobs” more than they may have initially thought was possible. Now, you could never expect a PR professional to do traditional PR jobs for you; online, nothing remains the same.

PR’s media relations have changed. PR writing must suit every reporter’s taste. Thus, online, the traditional “commercialistic style” of PR has changed into the same style of writing reporters do. Hoffman Agency online comms chief Shane Larrabee cautions PR people to change the way they treat the average press release. “PR professionals have to change the way they write. We have to write releases as a reporter would [write a story].”

The Golden Rule: “Know thy reporter” remains the logo that should be carried out by any PR professional, but with a slight change. The slight change is in the way you know the reporter. Knowing the reporter before means knowing him as a professional. Now, dealing with a reporter online takes more than knowing him in his profession. It requires knowing him as an individual. . “Don’t assume an individual working in the digital domain should receive email pitches,” Jason Teitler, EVP of Porter Novelli’s global interactive practice Teitler says.

The corporate site is one PR job, too. The web became the default dialogue box for all businessmen. Thus, the site must be guided thoroughly by PR. In order to measure the importance of having a site in any kind of business or establishment, here are some of the comments from important people who have seen how effective it is to communicate through the web:
Brown & Williamson, a tobacco company, has leveraged its site to control its media message and reach a variety of stakeholders in a controversial industry. “When we first launched the site in 1997, it was more of an informational site like most corporate sites. Since then, it has become a very important piece of our communications”, says Steve Kottak, manager of external affairs for the corporation.

The Red Cross also used its site to diffuse controversy in the wake of Sept. 11, when the organization fell under scrutiny for alleged misuse of funds. “We had a section called ‘Myths & Misconceptions,’ where the section listed each issue or ’myth’ and briefly debunked it….We looked at our traffic, and when there was a hot issue, traffic to that section would peak”, says Phil Zepeda, senior director of media communication for the Red Cross national headquarters.

The emerging mini-sites and the invasion of blogs are just two of the newer things online PR has to cope with.
Mini-sites are important tools for managing the overflowing information seen online. Aside from mini-sites, there are also interactive press kits, and sites that can be switched on and off for specific campaigns---- all these draw attention to programs or issues without readers having to dig deep into the corporate site.

The web serves as a familiar full-access medium so that PR professionals may treat it as part of a PR strategy. “You have to use it strategically,” Miller says. “The Web is grown up now, and it has caught up with the other outlets”, says Janice Miller, e-marketing and e-media director for GCI Group.
The blogs (short for web logs) is another trend PR has to deal with online. In fact, it has become a culture in the Internet. Many people are drawn to the blogosphere culture. The reason for this probably is the “preciseness” of topic that is being discussed by a certain blogger. Blogs can be anything. And for now, PR people monitor the existence of this growing culture, “Most (PR men) choose not to participate directly but to monitor them as they would a chatroom that covers issues impacting their industries,” says Teitler.

onlinepr.gbwatch.com/ gives updates on the ins and outs of public relations and marketing within the Internet. It helps various companies of all sizes to become competitive entrepreneurs, and to focus on building good publicity, promotion and higher sales. It aims to teach businessmen to be witty, confident, and strategic in whichever industry they hope to build their dreams upon.

Article Source: http://www.marketingarticlelibrary.com

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