Blogomanija.ME: Web Strategy for PR
Much anticipated regional conference about blogging – Blogomanija.ME took place over the weekend in the Falkensteiner hotel Stara Planina in Serbia. Despite problems with snow, it gathered more than 400 participants and over 50 lecturers who discussed subjects such as influence of blogs on community and whether or not blogs can be monetized.
One of the most heated discussions was the one dealing with the use of web tools in PR strategies, or better said the lack of it. Discussion gathered PR professionals from all over the Balkans, with different backgrounds both in the government and the private sector.
Go Web or Go Home?
Sebastijan Jeretič from Slovenia confessed that he is a classic type of the PR, one that is being digitalized over the past year. The need to go online was not so expressed in Slovenia as it was in other Balkan countries. He added that those who plan to stick around for 10 or 20 more years have to start considering the web before it’s too late, as he certainly did. Sebastijan noted that things are changing rapidly and those who do not consider web strategy as an important tool will sooner or later fail.
Marko Selaković, a spokesman for a certain political party in Serbia also stated that if you don’t take the web into consideration while planning a PR strategy, someone else will and you are going to end up with a bitter taste in your mouth. Furthermore, most of the PR tools on the web are free or not that expensive if you compare then to regular print or TV which is why it makes no sense for somebody not to use it.
Web Will Take Up 50% of Your PR Strategy
Sooner or later the inevitable will happen. Web community is going to become so big that it will be the one deciding. Back in 2008. President Obama was the first presidential candidate to have a web strategy and since then nothing’s been the same.
Croatian government created its Twitter profile about a year ago and brought something new to the Balkans. It has been very active and it showed the right way and the only way to do politics – through two-way communication. Also, the current Croatian government is keen on maintaining a good and healthy relationship with its internet community thus casting a shadow on its neighbors who still refuse to join the web.
Still Not On Web, What Are You Waiting For?
Blogging, tweeting and every other tool will ultimately affect the way you do your business. Change is necessary in these turbulent times, and you have to constantly keep learning new skills and perfecting them. The line is thin between conservative and interactive communication, and if you want to stay on top of everything mastering web strategy for PR is the way to go. If along the way you decide to start blogging, know that .ME can provide you with your own domain name. Now, go out there and start dealing with web!
