PR types don’t understand how consumers use media

When consumers want to buy a flat-screen TV, take a vacation to a place where they’ve never been, or see a movie at the local theater, who do they turn to for advice?

Their friends, family and experts.

Yet only one in four communications professionals have a word-of-mouth program in place. An article in the February issue of PR Tactics includes results from a survey called Myths & Realities, conducted by Ketchum and USC’s Annenberg Strategic Public Relations Center.

It says that despite strong evidence that friends, family and experts play a key role in influencing decisions, only 24 percent of communicators have a word-of-mouth program in place.

Those programs might include:

  • A company blog.
  • Something as simple as a “tell a friend” box at your website.
  • A contest in which consumers create a clever video of how they use your product or video, upload it to YouTube and compete for prizes.
  • Encouraging customers to write a product review and post it at your website

There are dozens more ideas. Let’s hear yours.

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  • Cheryle Gagnon

    Hi Joan,
    I love your ideas for PR but like so many others you
    assume all internet users are at the same level of expertise. I don’t know HOW to make a video to put on You Tube. A step-by-step example would help me and many others who didn’t have the opportunity to learn about computers like students today do. I don’t have children, so they can’t teach me these”modern” ways.

  • Joan

    Cheryle:

    Not to worry. I don’t have any products that walk you through the process of how to create a video. But Tom Antion has a fabulous 2-CD set that explains the entire process.

    Take a look: http://tinyurl.com/y3b6wj

    Joan