I subscribe to a number of blogs and am constantly googling to find information that might better our company. One thing I came across is courtesy of http://www.pr2020.com: Ten Public Relations Trends That Will Change The Industry Forever. Strong words; I know. That said, I am with them on at least half of their list. Here’s a telling paragraph that I want to share with you from PR 20/20 founder, Paul Roetzer:

“In essence, the social Web, and all the tools and services it continues to spawn, has forever changed the game. There are PR firms that will adapt to meet the growing mass-market demand for Internet-based expertise and service, and there are many that will not.”

Roetzer goes on to list the following PR trends for 2009:

1. Inbound marketing - briefly described as consumers come to you

2. Content marketing - marketing powered by content (blogs, podcasts, online articles, videos, optimized press releases)

3. Social Web and the Decline of Mainstream Media - social networks (Facebook, Twitter), blogging - these are now a part of our lives

4. Search (as in Google)

5. Measurement - what matters is search engine rankings, web traffic, inbound links (all trackable metrics)

6. Web Software Solutions - monitoring, distribution, web development etc

7. Next Generation Leaders - keep your eyes on Gen X (28-43) and Gen Y (18 – 27)

8. Value-Based Pricing - self explanatory

9. Mobile - marketing messages coming directly to one’s phone, pda

10. Website Development - Inbound marketers will be the preferred providers to web development services

Look, Roetzer says it better than I. Check out this link

So I am obsessed with social media. Dare I even call myself an evangelist? (That is a term that the gurus I follow are throwing around.) Thing is, this is where your customers are. But don’t take my word for it, just ask Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh, who has over 24,000 followers on Twitter - including 400 of his own employees who have their own group. If you want to follow Tony on Twitter, his screen name is simply “zappos.” He comments on everything from the recent full moon to Zappos’ customer service to what he’s eating in his NYC hotel room (pizza heated up by an iron - brilliant; I must try that)! Oh - and by the way, it ain’t just ceo’s who are on Twitter - I’m following Shaquille O’Neal and Jimmy Fallon!

My loving staff criticizes me for not actually blogging here but twittering. What-EVER! Here’s an example of how JC Penney’s is using social media to sell jewelry. You will LAUGH OUT LOUD whether you are male or female. Enjoy!
Beware of the Dog House

According to stats from Nielsen Online, Twitter recorded 2.3 million unique visitors in August 2008 (US-only) which is an increase of 422% from the same time in 2007. So NOW do you believe that social media communities are a hot property? BTW - advice for tweeters (and this is from an expert, not me): be yourself, be genuine, be friends with your followers, and don’t offer “auto replies” with a free gift - everyone sees right through that. But you can start a conversation about your product or company. Just don’t be so blatant!

A business associate from England sent me this YouTube video on the speed of the technological revolution. In it is stated that if MySpace.com (over 200 million registered users) was a country, it’d be the fifth largest country in the world, somewhere between Brazil and Indonesia . . . that 31 billion searches are made on google every MONTH  . . . and that it took Facebook only two years to reach a market audience of 50 million!