what is pr 2.0?

Traditionally, PR involved writing a press release and distributing it to the media. If the release was timely and newsworthy, a story would be published or broadcast. Today, people are increasingly turning to online sources for information. According to Pew Research, 72 percent of American adults have gone online to get their news. And 78 percent have used the internet to research a product or service online before buying it.

Blogs, podcasts, MySpace, FaceBook, Flickr, Technorati, YouTube are all part of the growing online social media, which allow users to publish, share and comment on content on the Internet.

According to Business Week, use of social media websites grew 668 percent from April 2006 to April 2007.

Who's online today? Your customers. And while you’d expect that 87 percent of the 18 to 29 year-olds would be using the Internet, you might not know the 83 percent of those aged 30 to 49 are using the net, and 65 percent of those aged 50 to 64 are online.

It’s easy to see why businesses today cannot rely on just traditional public relations for one-way dissemination of information to create awareness of their companies, products and services. Today’s consumers want to be part of the conversation. The businesses that succeed will be those that engage their customers.

With more than 111 million blogs tracked by Technorati in October 2007, opinionated supporters and critics are having their say right now about the way you run your business and the products and services that you offer. Do you know exactly what they're saying, and when—and how— you should respond to them?

Social media enables the collaboration of information, ideas and opinions of individuals on topics of interest to them. People can connect on social networking sites such as MySpace or FaceBook. They can share thoughts through blogs tracked by Technorati. Photos can be shared through sites like Flickr. And news stories of interest can be tagged and shared through sites like Del.icio.us and Digg.

The new social media environment provides challenges and opportunities for businesses today. SSA’s PR 2.0 platform embraces social media to provide information and engage your customers when, where and how they want to be reached. We can develop a strategic plan to help your business navigate and implement successful social media programs.