Top Five Online Tools for PR Professionals

One of the primary uses of the Internet is for communication through, email, information delivery, and research opportunities. It is important that PR professionals take advantage of its worldwide reach and its extensive access to audiences.

Blogs

A blog tracking organization called Technorati, estimated in 2007 that there are about 61 million blogs and about 175,000 being created each day. Many bloggers are amateurs, but others have risen in prominence and have a large following. Political candidates are an example, they have recognized the power of influential bolggers and use them in the same way they use mainstream media. It is important for Public Relations personnel to monitor weblogs that reach large numbers of consumers to make sure the information being talked about is true. This gives the organization a chance to set the record straight or place positive information about the organization. They also allow PR people to know what the public is talking about and the latest trends that could affect the success in their particular industry.

RSS Feeds

RSS feeds work well when PR practitioners are monitoring blogs because they are notified through the RSS feed anytime a particular blog is updated. This way they can make sure they are always up to date.

Social Media

People use social media to share content, opinions, insights, experiences, perspectives, and media itself. Social media can take many different forms including text, images, audio, and video. Social media gives PR professionals the opportunity  to harness the human urge to relate to each other and to create or assemble compelling content that is shared with others.

Personal Digital Assistants (PDA)

Blackberries, iPhones, smartphones and pocket PCs provide portable management of traditional information such as email, calendars, tasks, and contacts. They also off web browsing and instant messaging capabilities. These PDAs greatly enhance the productiveness and efficiency of any PR professional.

Web casting

Most organizations are now posting SMTs, news feeds, and online news conferences on the Internet to reach a large audience through continuous audio and video. This is called web casting and allows journalist to cover an organization easier and get the information they need. “We did one press conference where almost nobody showed up; we did a live stream onto the web and we had dozen’s of reporters watching it,” said Marc Wein, President of Murray Hill Studios in New York.