Where Do We Go From Here?

Applying New Media to Public Relations Initiatives

As stated in my previous post, the use of new media continues to expand at an escalating rate among the public and PR professionals need to jump on this trend in order to leverage clients in the most effective way possible. Now that we have an understanding of some basic new media terms, we can now start to discuss how using those media outlets can benefit clients:

· Blogs- A blog is a great communication tool that allows you and your client to participate in a variety of online conversations. PR practitioners can use blogs to promote their clients’ services, products, etc., participate in any conversations related to their company, and make and sustain contact with important user groups and other blog authorities. Before you start blogging for your client, it is important to research who else might be talking about the same topic that you would like to focus on for your client. Once you decide on a topic you can go to: http://www.blogger.com/ to select a website and set-up your blog using various templates. Once you have established the blog, there needs to be regular posts-(at least two times a week) in order to make an impact.

· Podcasts- Podcasts are a great and inexpensive PR and marketing tool. They allow you to promote your clients’ products, services, etc. directly to their customers as well as other digital media users. Your client could host a podcast on a hot topic related to their business and invite experts to be part of the podcast. When creating a podcast, try to be both informative and entertaining, and make sure that the podcast does not sound like an online advertisement. To understand a little more about podcasts go to: http://www.podcastalley.com/what_is_a_podcast.php

· Wiki-Wikis are popping up fast and some sites are credible and professional and others are not. It is important to do some research on credible ones that pertain to your clients and enter information about your clients’ products, services, etc. onto wikipedia- http://www.wikipedia.com/ or other relevant wikis. Once client information is posted, it is important to monitor wikis so that information is not altered.

· Social Network Sites: (Facebook, MySpace)-Social networking sites enable contact between both people we know as well as an extended network of personal and professional contacts. Social network sites are also a way for PR professionals to get in touch with journalists. In order to begin extending your contact network, go to http://www.myspace.com/ and create an account. You can add as many contacts as you like to your account—some could be reporters, some could be fellow PR professionals, etc. PR practitioners can also add clients to their social networks as a way to keep in touch with past, present, or future clients.