PUBLIC RELATIONS AND THE INTERNET

Chapter Nineteen

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Public Relations and the Internet

History and Foundation Internet developed by the Dept. of

Defense as part of a communications network during the Cold War in l969.

The World Wide Web was developed by physicist Tim Berners-Lee to enlarge the Internet for multiple uses in l989.

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Web continued

The web is a collection of millions of computers on the Internet that connect using information in HTML, or hypertext markup language.

Multimedia can be combined using sound, graphics, video, animation, etc. and serves as a powerful tool in cyberspace.

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Internet and Its Importance to the Profession Public relations professionals use the Internet as

a means to communicate with various constituencies and as a commercial tool.

Consider in the year 2000, Americans spent nearly 8 hours a week online, sending three times as much e-mail as regular mail, and spending $20 billion on online retail purchases.

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Communications Medium

Almost every organization has a website today. There is a need for professionals to be interactive specialists to communicate via the Internet.

The net also serves as a source for research, correspondence, contacts, internal and external communication vehicles, and other media portals.

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Challenges

With tremendous growth expected, practitioners have these challenges:

The demand to be educated versus being sold

The need for real-time performance The need for customization

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Cyber Areas for the practice

E-mail Websites Online media relations Online monitoring Product promotion Investor relations

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E-mail

Can be used internally as well as externally as a tool

Newsletters, bulletins, announcements Many publications now have been replaced with

electronic ones or co-exist Feedback is quick and easy Can’t replace face-to-face communication but

serves as an alternative

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Online Newsletters

E-mail newsletters mostly used for external use to customers, investors, or the media and have some important differences from traditional print newsletters:

No more than one page Link content Regularly sent Encourage feedback

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Planned Web Sites are an Important Interface with the Public

Development should include planning and answer the following questions:

What is the goal? What is the content going

to include?

How often will it be edited?

How will design be enhanced?

How interactive will it be? How will use be tracked? Who will be responsible?

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Websites

Should provide information that is needed. The more that its objective is achieved, the more “sticky” your site becomes.

Stickiness is measured by the amount of time visitors spend at the site and how many pages they view.

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Exercise

Using the rules of stickiness on page 447, visit your college home page and evaluate the stickiness. Is your college website a strong site? Defend your answer.

(Link to homepage could be inserted here.)

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Online Publications

Website newsrooms News releases and via newswires—

general, financial, and paid

Other online publicity

Speeches Annual/Quarterly

reports Annual meetings Interviews Digital press kits Photos, profiles, ad

copy

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Need for Vigilance

The public relations practitioner should monitor the Internet with regard to: Discussion groups, chat rooms which can be venues

for discontent and unscrupulous actions Rogue Web sites presenting negative or confusing

information Urban legends, which mostly contain bogus or

misleading information/rumors

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Product Promotion

Internet provided the shift from bricks to clicks economy

Buyers quickly access information without interference

Adlinks are a promotional device used. It is a small advertisement that promotes another site or page and can automatically connect you to the site references because of the hyperlink.

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Investor Relations

Can be used as a more controlled communication mechanism to deal with company stockholders and communities

Investors can directly use to keep track of investments and the market

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Intranets, Extranets, and CD-ROMS Intranets expand internal communications

capabilities Extranets allow the organization to use the

Internet to communicate to targeted external targets

CD-ROMs (Compact Disc Read Only Memory) can store unchangeable rich information and increases capabilities and access

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What Knowledge and Skills Do I Need to be a Practitioner in this Area? Blend of traditional skills of writing and

speaking Knowledge of media relations Communications knowledge Online Skills of the Internet

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Question…..

In your estimation, what makes up a strong organizational website?

Provide an example.

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Exercise

In a group, create a website for a non-profit organization of your choice. Do this as a thumbnail sketch. What do you want your site to communicate? Provide the links you feel are important. Be prepared to show and tell to your classmates.