Thank you for your excellent benchmarking report on Online PR released yesterday. It was interesting to note the disparity between companies and agencies on the definition of Online PR and its related services.

Online PR continues to be a developing service so naturally its definition, services, solutions, ownership and definitions will inevitably vary depending on the communications professional or organisation presenting its case.  

In order for it to be effective and diverse, our view is Online PR services should be supported by a specialist agency or qualified workforce offering a mixed skill set.  A blend of communications and technology skills is a pre-requisite for today’s communications professionals.  More people are needed in this space.

Traditional methods and people generally don’t fit a ‘new’ media. By using online PR as a proactive approach to marketing and integrating traditional methods with new e-strategies and technologies, you will get successful, measurable and efficient campaigns that build brand equity, increase online visibility and drive visitors to websites. 

On the question of ROI, the benefit of technology is that campaigns can be monitored, very results-driven and focused around solid deliverables and quantifiable standards of success.  For years, many PR agencies have sold services that lack defined deliverables, so it is interesting to note from your report how important this is in the Online PR arena.

Online PR services will continue to develop as new ideas and technologies advance, while traditional public relations skills and techniques will become increasingly irrelevant.  If the PR industry wants to take ownership of this service and not lose out to digital agencies it needs to look long and hard at its own service proposition.

At ://CORPORACT we believe that ultimately public relations will only be online and a new breed of communications professional will emerge.

Who grabs the largest slice of this rising cake will depend on who offers the most relevant skills, knowledge and clearly defined and measurable services.