Why online PR taken so long to arrive…

—From Graham

Where was online PR when ‘online marketing’ was coined? Where was it when online advertising arrived on the scene?

E-mail marketing quickly became the digital equivalent to direct mail. Banner ads instantly imitated print display ads. PPC has grown to become very similar in principle to traditional classified ads.

Over the past 15 years or so, every traditional form of marketing and advertising has one-by-one developed an online equivalent.

But all the while, PR has quietly stood in the wings, watching bemused at this new spangled Interweb.

It has taken the steroid shot that is social media to suddenly awaken the realisation: “PR too has an online equivalent!!”

But what lies in the past, lies in the past.

The important thing now is that this realisation has in no uncertain terms spread far and wide. People now increasingly understand the important role for PR in engaging people online.

For me, the most exciting thing is looking ahead to the future. Where is this all leading?

Experience at onlinefire highlights to me that we are headed to a very interesting place. The tools and tactics available to online PR agencies are vast and varied. Never before has there been such scope for creativity.

Over the course of the next few weeks, I plan to cover off the various tools we use as part of our campaigns, and the ways they can be used to engage and excite people online. Watch this page!