The convergence of technology with every single business sector and its infusion into our own personal lives has prompted a sea of change in how we, as professional communicators, must approach our work on a daily basis.
No longer can we think of online communications as an "add-on" item to the menu of strategic recommendations we make for clients. Nor can we any longer allow our minds to operate on two separate planes - one for traditional communications strategies and the other for the technology-focused client or company executive who we perceive to be "plugged in" and on a techno-forward path.
Instead, it is our obligation to become versed in the dynamics of real-time, Internet communication and its impact on the recipients of strategic messages.
We must remember that we are not just talking about the ability to instantaneously transmit a message and its context to huge numbers of individuals - at the exact same time
We are talking about something far more important: the ability to engage in a true dialogue.
No longer is our orientation primarily that of one-way communications with the ardent hope of establishing the all-important relationship.
Rather, it is the essence of interactivity that must permeate both our strategic and creative approaches. It is our ability to establish a purposeful two-way dialogue and, with it, meaningful relationships that makes the Internet a marketer's bonanza and a communicator's dream.
We are sweeping quickly toward the day when accessibility and acceptance are no longer issues, when electronic transactions dominate and when technology, leading the information management revolution, becomes the recognized enabler of both enhanced business models and lifestyles.
With that day will come the imperative that solid Internet communications skills and techniques must be in the repertoire of every PR professional.
The New Reality
- For the first time, women outnumber men among new Internet users and now constitute 38.4% of all users, according to a recent survey from Georgia Tech.
- In the past year, use of the Internet by women has increased 33% (again according to Georgia Tech).
- New Internet consumers are more often becoming users not just because of work but based on other interests.
- 84% of all Internet users say the medium is indispensable.
- Privacy has replaced censorship as the number one Internet concern.
Some Internet Communication Thoughts And Tips
- Determine how your company can leverage its investment in technology to take strategic advantage of the Internet. But first, find out what your competitors are doing and what security issues you must address.
- Find out how the Internet has or is changing the behavior of your customers, suppliers and vendors and how that is impacting your business.
- Learn about and monitor relevant news groups or communities.
- Understand the role of online intermediaries and know who they are.
- Remember that your Web site must impress with its content rather than its glitz and glamour.
- Every visitor to your Web site is a potential customer or a potential convert to your idea.
- Web sites are meant to simplify, not complicate.
- You don't have to be a technology geek to value and leverage technology.
- Online communications must be balanced and smartly integrated with other traditional channels.
- Don't assume the entire world is wired.
- Avoid using cliches or jargon in e-mail media relations; be succinct, to the point and be sure to copy and paste in press materials in the body of your e-mail rather than frustrate the reporter with an attachment that may be difficult to open or view.
Barbara H. Hines is executive VP and GM of Porter Novelli San Francisco. She can be reached by writing to Porter/Novelli at 444 Market Street, Suite 3000 San Francisco, CA 94111; by e-mail at [email protected] or at: 415-733-1700