Posts Tagged ‘Internet; Pew Survey’

Has a client every said to you, “But it wasn’t published in the paper,” as they discussed a recent PR campaign? If so, here is news that will help them understand just how broad the impact of the Internet is.

According to a story published in Marketing Charts, We know that newspapers and broadcast television are not the powers that they once were. We know “Americans’ frequent use of the internet has nearly doubled over the past five years with 48% of adults – many in groups that have historically been less frequent users – now reporting that they use the Internet more than one hour per day, compared with 26% in 2002, according to results from a recent Gallup Poll.”And to add to that, more than ever, consumers are using social networks. It is reported by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, “Though social networkers are equally likely to be men and women, not surprisingly, Pew finds that younger adults are much more likely than older ones to have profiles on social networks:

• 75% of online adults 18-24 have a profile on a social network site
• 57% of online adults 25-34 have a profile on a social network site
• 30% of online adults 35-44 have one
• 19% of online 45 to 54 year olds have a profile
• 10% of online 55 to 64 year olds have a profile
• 7% of online adults 65+ have a profile

Adding punch to these numbers is the video below that truly brings it all home. If a company is spending money on public relations, they need to be concentrating their efforts more on the digital world of online content than on the traditional media outlets.

We cannot overemphasize how important the connected nature of online media are to multiplying the impact of a news story.

The Online Media from RealWire on Vimeo.

In the latest update to the Pew Internet & American Life Project surveys show that there are disparities in how several segments take up news. Older consumers are still with newspapers and those less than 35 are consuming news online. However there is a new class of what the survey calls ‘integrators’ who use both online and traditional news sources such as television and newspaper. According to the survey they are more educated and wealthy.

Marketers must now realize that internet is a major component of an integrated campaign and seek ways to embed that into the client’s campaign.

Add in public relations and the opportunity to gain earned media in diverse ways and you can build a real landslide of information about the client directed to their consumers.

The key is understanding the consumer’s behaviors and then building an integrated mix including PR that reaches them.