PR and Blogs: A Match Made in Communication Heaven

Not your typical trend
In the words of Paris Hilton, “Blogs are like so hot right now”. All over the world thousands of new blogs are created each day as the number of blog sites worldwide is estimated to be around 60 million and climbing. Unlike previous internet fads or technological trends, the world of blogging has emerged in the forefront of the communication revolution and has taken over the web one blog at a time. Unlike online communities like Facebook and Myspace who cater to certain demographics or generations, the “blogosphere” is open to anyone who knows how to use a computer. From politicians to celebrity gossip columnists, large PR firms to local church groups blogs are everywhere and anyone interested in the field of communications or mass media should start blogging.

What`s the big deal?
According to PR WEEK writer Kate Nicolas, “The blogging revolution will force change in PR”. These days it’s practically PR suicide for a company not to have a website or email system and pretty soon if not already, blogs will be a must. The constant rapid advancement of technology has turned the name of a popular online search engine into a verb ( “I`ll just Google that restaurant”) and an online community has become the subject of the newest pick up line (“Hey, are we friends on Facebook?”) . As a society we rely on the Internet for practically everything- paying credit card bills, booking airplane flights, registering for college courses, keeping in touch with family and even finding that special someone to spend the rest of your life with? Multi- billion dollar corporations and small local companies use the Internet to generate business, build their clientele, keep the media up to date and informed, and even scout out new job recruits.

Yet something was missing- there seemed to be a real disconnect between the companies and their clients. Consumers were unable to get the real scoop on certain products or offers featured online and companies had a hard time getting up to date feedback about overall customer satisfaction.

And then came the blog….
Even though blogs have been around for several years, it has been in the last few years that things have really started to take off. Brian Oberkirch, author of the blog “Like it Matters” feels like the time is now for all companies to start blogging. In a recent interview with Ketchum`s Nicholas Scribetta, Oberkirch shares his views about this bold new type of PR. When asked “When should companies know it is right to go into the blogosphere?” Oberkirch replied with the following: “I think everyone should be listening to the running conversations avaiable. Think of it as a free 24/7 focus group where people are talking about the good, the bad and the ugly of your company, your product or services or those of your competitors. Who wouldn’t want feedback?” http://www.ketchum.com And that is exactly what most companies have started to do.

To blog or not to blog
PR firms all over the world have been creating blogs as a way for their clients to track trends about their clients reputations, talk to the public on a grassroots level, and even network with other PR professionals. The blog http://businessblogconsulting.com is a site completely devoted to demonstrating how effective weblogs can be for communicating with customers and marketing to new customer prospects. One of the largest and most successful PR firms, Burson-Marsteller, has a many blogs avaiable for potential clinets to get feedback and information about the companies practices and philosphies. Even 86-year-old Harold Burson has his own blog where he shares his insight about the evolution of PR. Check out his blog at http://hb.burson-marsteller.com .Many of the blogs feature links to their companies main website as well as ways to reach the blog author. These features allow the readers to feel connected with the companies as well as others like them who want to learn more about the company. The Eldeman website has an entire section labeled “Speak Up” that is dedicated entirely to blogs that feature CEO Richard Eldeman`s blog, other vice presidents as well as PR bloggers who have something to say. Check out this website at: http://edelman.com/


It is safe to say that the PR field has caught the blog fever and it is only a matter of time before every firm- large or small, corporate or non-profit will have a blog of their own. So for all you PR hopefuls out there, start blogging!