PR is switching to a two-way conversation
- Source: Global Times
- [21:29 October 14 2009]
- Comments
However, the world has changed, and so must the methods of PR.
Today, a host of new media, from electronic bulletin board systems to blogs and online social networks, provides a way to send and receive information. Now readers can start their own topics, leave their own comments and share with their own circle of friends. This has resulted in a two-way conversation in which both sides exchange views.
Earlier this year, the China Internet Network Information Center reported that the number of Internet users in China had reached 338 million, surpassing the entire population of the US. The size of this figure can be attributed in part to China's massive population, but that can't explain away the growth – 13.4 percent since late 2008.
Such statistics are evidence that people in China and elsewhere are increasingly turning to the Internet for information. This should provide even more incentive for PR practitioners to shift their strategy from one-way communication to two-way communication.
This February, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao engaged in a highly publicized online chat with Chinese netizens, who were able to submit their questions to the premier on an online forum.
This is an example of the most powerful application of new media: the ability to listen. BBS, blogs and social networks enable companies to receive their customers' feedback or, in this case, the premier to answer citizens' questions. And organizations are finding that this unprecedented level of interactivity is an indispensable tool for gauging audience opinion.
