How Online PR is better than Internet Marketing

Internet marketing is a great way to generate publicity and get your product recognized. It is especially popular among small companies and online businesses, as it allows them to reach a large number of users with little to no production costs. However, it has grown so popular that Internet users find it intrusive, and many people pass Internet marketing material as spam.

A good alternative to Internet marketing is online public relations. As its name suggests, it uses PR techniques (as opposed to blatant advertising) to promote your product over the Internet. This system ensures wide reach since it uses the Internet as medium, while providing the credibility of traditional PR media.

What’s the difference?

Internet marketing simply tries to sell products, while online PR promotes the product in order to attract users. The former relies heavily on advertising. Common examples of Internet marketing are the flashy banner ads you see in sponsored websites, the small text ads in the sidebars, and pop-up windows. Online PR, on the other hand, uses more subtle techniques. PR material often involves real, useful content (such as news articles and how-to guides) that mention the product and sometimes provide links to the company website.

Why is this better?

Most Internet users are used to online ads and will ignore even the extremely flashy banners. When you use such ads, people are bound to associate your brand or company name with spam. But if your product appears in quality, informative articles, they are more likely to trust you because you appear helpful, professional, and knowledgeable.

Also, some computers have anti-spam software and pop-up blockers that remove unwanted ads from websites. Using articles as a promotional tool will keep your material from getting banned by such programs.

What mediums are available?

• Press releases. Press releases are the simplest form of online PR. This works much like print PR, where you submit your article to newspapers or magazines and wait to be published. In online PR, you can send your material to Internet news wires, which will distribute it to various media outlets. Some sites offer a free news wire service, while others will charge distribution fees. As of February 2007, news wire fees range from $80 to $600 depending on the type and extent of distribution.
• Expert articles. These are general articles that offer advice or information on your field. It’s easier to get published if your material does not mention your product or service, since most sites will charge for publishing promotional articles. Some sites also offer “sponsored white papers,” where they charge your company for syndicating content from their website.
• “Podbloginars.” This is simply a combination of podcast, blog, and web seminar (webinar). Their main advantage is that they allow you to add pictures, video, and interactive content to your article. Also, you don’t have to stick to press release or white paper format, so your articles can sound more casual and engaging. This makes it even more credible, especially since your readers are mostly from your field of work.

Conclusion

Online PR may not yield sales as fast as internet marketing can, but its results are certainly longer lasting. If you want your web business to survive the ever-changing internet dynamics, then you should invest more heavily in online PR.