Online Public Relations: The Future of Internet Marketing

Public relations have always been an integral part of marketing. Companies running an integrated marketing campaign often use press releases and the involvement of media to generate exposure and credibility. News brought by third-party publishers is always seen as being more valuable than advertisements and paid placements.

Today, with the increasing use of internet marketing instruments, public relations professionals are doing more than just connecting with the media. The presence of social media and the ability to connect directly to the audience mean PR specialists must also formulate strategies to handle a wider range of situations. Is online PR the future of internet marketing?

More Than Ads

There is no doubt that public relations specialists are playing more roles in the internet marketing landscape, especially for larger businesses and corporations. The strategies behind social media activities, guidelines on how to maintain a positive social footprint and online reputation management are just a few examples of the increasingly important tasks handled by the PR department.

The same sentiment can also be seen at different online public relations degree programs from universities such as George Washington University. The online SPR program at GWU includes online activities - and skills required to master them.

Despite these changes, PR is still so much more than ads and placements. PR has always been about building and maintaining relationships, managing reputation and getting positive exposure from third-party sources. All of these elements are still the core of online PR, which is why it is now an important part of internet marketing in general.

Online PR for Smaller Businesses

To some extent, even the smallest business can do public relations. In fact, a lot of business owners are going back to school and taking online public relations programs for the purpose of mastering the basics. Reputation management, for instance, is a key skill to have if you want to have the ability to establish and maintain a strong online presence for your business.

Even simple tasks such as complaint handling can be done more effectively when there are guidelines set up for public relations purposes. Instead of viewing it as customer support, complaints are great opportunities to show customers and a wider audience the true values of your business and the brand.

Smaller businesses can also choose to handle some of the PR tasks themselves, whether with the help of an internal team or by hiring agencies and freelance PR professionals. The benefits brought by PR campaigns are too good to miss.

It Is Here to Stay

Similar to other internet marketing instruments, online PR is not something that businesses can use on its own. For PR activities to be effective, other campaigns such as SEO and social media must also be in place.

However, there is no doubt that online PR is becoming increasingly popular; it is here to stay. Online businesses and brands are now more focused on formulating an integrated online marketing campaigns with PR as one of the key instruments used along the way.