Many PR professional associations are finding that using the World Wide Web is a cost effective and efficient way of communicating with their members and doling out information about issues affecting the profession.
Because associations such as the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) offer opportunities for improvement of skills and advancement of knowledge, as well as for exchange of information and experiences with other public relations professionals - the Web is a perfect tool for them, said Joe Soriano, management specialist for IABC.
"Theoretically (our members) could get all the information they need from the Web site," he said. "It compliments everything else we do to help our members."
The sites provide calendars for upcoming events, newsletters, e-mail addresses for executive committee members, press releases, job seeking tools and sets of Internet tools that link to other helpful sites including journalist and PR organizations.
"When creating the site," said PRSA webmaster Allen Miller, "I set to create something I didn't see anywhere - a place where communications professionals could get virtually everything they need to practice their craft."
One category within the PRSA (http://www.prsa.org) site that's of particular interest is the "Practitioners' Workshop" - an area which allows users to key-word search the site, transfer files and access usenet news groups as well as the "Marketer's Toolkit," an area with a collection of corporate service links and marketing services.
"We have members across the world looking for information ranging from continuing education to networking possibilities," said John Elsasser, editor-in-chief of PR Tactics, a PRSA magazine and online newsletter. "People are really embracing the technology - we are now getting a least a third more requests for information via the Web."
At the IABC (http://www.iabc.com) site, members can find out about the history of IABC, find chapters and members in their areas, register for the annual conference, learn about IABC products, read the association Communication World Online magazine and do key word searches. Soriano said the association will be adding new features this year, which will include adding security to the site for credit card transactions for purchasing publications, products and conference registration.
Another useful site is American Marketing Association Online (http://www.ama.org), which will eventually have links to AMA's 500 local chapters. The site includes: marketplace classifieds, conferences, directories, publications and dial-in access to the library. The AMA library has over 300 indexed articles, 5,000 books and 100 periodicals. "As the world's largest professional association for marketers, we have to educate marketers in every way possible including using the Web," said AMA webmaster Michael Hammer. (AMA, 312/648-0536; PRSA, 202/408-7004; IABC, 415/433-4814)