INMA_A01.QXD

What is online PR?

Online PRor e-PR leverages the network effect of the Internet. Remember that Internet is

a contraction of ‘interconnected networks’! Mentions of a brand or site on other sites are

powerful in shaping opinions and driving visitors to your site. The main element of

online PR is maximising favourable mentions of an organisation, its brands, products or

web sites on third-party web sites which are likely to be visited by its target audience.

Furthermore, as we noted in the topic on search engine optimisation, the more links

there are from other sites to your site, the higher your site will be ranked in the natural

or organic listings of the search engines. Minimising unfavourable mentions through

online reputation managementis also an aspect of online PR.

Differences between online PR and traditional PR

Ranchhod et al. (2002) identify four key differences between online PR and traditional PR.

1 The audience is connected to organisations. Previously, there was detachment – PR

people issued press releases which were distributed over the newswires, picked up by

the media, and then published in their outlets. These authors say:

the communication channel was uni-directional. The institutions communicated and the

audiences consumed the information. Even when the communication was considered a

two-way process, the institutions had the resources to send information to audiences

through a very wide pipeline, while the audiences had only a minuscule pipeline for

communicating back to the institutions.

2 The members of the audience are connected to each other. Through publishing their own

web sites or e-newsletters or contributing to reviews or discussions on others, infor-

mation can be rapidly distributed from person to person and group to group. The

authors say:

Today, a company’s activity can be discussed and debated over the Internet, with or

without the knowledge of that organisation. In the new environment everybody is a

communicator, and the institution is just part of the network.

3 The audience has access to other information. Often in the past, the communicator was

able to make a statement that it would be difficult for the average audience member to

challenge – the Internet facilitates rapid comparison of statements. The authors say:

It takes a matter of minutes to access multiple sources of information over the Internet.

Any statement made can be dissected, analysed, discussed and challenged within

hours by interested individuals. In the connected world, information does not exist in a

vacuum.

4 Audiences pull information. This point is similar to the last one. Previously there were

limited channels in terms of television and press. Today there are many sources and

channels of information – this makes it more difficult for the message to be seen. The

authors say:

Until recently, television offered only a few channels. People communicated with one

another by post and by phone. In these conditions, it was easy for a public relations

practitioner to make a message stand out.

2 ONLINE PR

Online PR
Maximising favourable
mentions of your
company, brands,
products or web sites
on third-party web sites
which are likely to be
visited by your target
audience.

Online reputation
management
Controlling the
reputation of an
organisation through
monitoring and
controlling messages
placed about the
organisation.