PR is switching to a two-way conversation
- Source: Global Times
- [21:29 October 14 2009]
- Comments
New media is changing the way organizations tell their story, too. Rather than merely mailing a press release to the media or holding a press conference, an organization can interact directly with its target audience online – much the way Premier Wen did.
Perhaps most promising are online social networks, which allow people to contribute and share content. Not only do such sites allow organizations to capture their audience's attention, they also make it possible to enlist audience participation.
Even traditional media like newspapers now have their own websites and blogs. Therefore, this new communication landscape presents more options and diversity for PR than in the past.
Economic globalization has also created a consumer culture that presents individuals with more choices than ever before. From groceries to gadgets to entertainment and even medicine – there are more options for people to choose. This has opened up many opportunities for PR to promote the relative advantages of competing products and services.
In addition, economic growth means that audiences themselves are changing. A report from the consulting firm McKinsey this year, "Understanding China's Wealthy," predicts that the number of wealthy households in China's second- and third-tier cities will increase from 1.1 million to 3.2 million by 2015.
As economic growth spreads, it promises to raise consumer purchasing power. Companies can no longer afford to misunderstand with this growing consumer base.
These social factors are the catalyst behind increased Internet use. People are making more decisions about products and services than in the past, and they are going online for information to make those decisions.
Consumers need more information. And they want to be part of a two-way conversation that benefits both brands and consumers.
PR, done wisely, can make that happen.
Tim Gingrich works at a global PR agency in Beijing and writes a blog, Go Too Far East, about his travels at http://gotoofareast.com
