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leveraging and extending that communication through other means that might include traditional PR or online social media efforts. The “big value” in PR-related communications is that the messages come from someone else — others talking about us and saying, basically, the same things that we would say. But, again, the fact that others are saying these things wields significant power.

      Years ago, with limited choices for products and services and limited communication venues to hear about those products and services, companies could offer a product and expect customers to buy it. Customers had limited knowledge of what else might be available — they were part of captive markets. Customers aren’t captive anymore. They are not only able to be more aware of competitive offerings available around the globe (rather than through our local vendors), but also able to find out about what other people think about those products and services like never before.

      It’s word-of-mouth on steroids.

      What do businesses need to do to survive and thrive in this environment? The same things they’ve always needed to do, but the pressure has intensified. They need to:

      •Find a niche that isn’t being filled effectively and fill it.

      •Thoroughly understand market needs and competitive pressures.

      •Provide a product/service that customers value.

      •Make sure customers know about and have easy access to their product/service.

      •Listen and be ready to adapt and shift as the environment changes.

      PR today isn’t just about influencing traditional reporters to cover you and your products and services in their traditional publications.

      PR today is about influencing anyone with an audience to spread the word.

      In a world of “citizen journalists,” you can benefit from PR on steroids. Traditional journalists and reporters are still important, but savvy communicators know that any third-party recommendations, referrals or endorsements matter — always have and always will.

      Easy? No. Rewarding? It can be. In this book, we’ll offer advice and expertise based on experience on both sides of the PR equation — from the standpoint of business journalists who often receive pitches or responses to queries from those seeking media exposure, and from the standpoint of a consulting firm that works to gain positive media exposure for our clients.

      The Power of Word-of-Mouth

      When it comes to making an impact on consumer buying decisions, word-of-mouth (WOM) matters. The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) released a study in 2014 that “found that the value of a word-of-mouth impression is anywhere from 5 to 100+ times more valuable than a paid media impression.”

      From professional experience when working in the healthcare industry, I know our own consumer research indicated that more than 50 percent of the consumers in our market said word-of-mouth was the most significant influence on their choice of a provider.

      From personal experience, I know that I, like many consumers, am certainly influenced by the opinions of others. In a tight economy, that's even more the case.

      The significant impact of word-of-mouth can be good news to those organizations and individuals who have a great product, or service, that is readily available and meets customer needs; generating positive word-of-mouth is virtually “free marketing.”

      Word-of-mouth can be bad news for others, of course. Given the influence others have on our buying behaviors, it would seem to behoove marketers to make sure they're spending time and effort:

      •#1 - creating and delivering a good product/service.

      •#2 - "wooing" the customers they have.

      What's even worse than not doing No. 1 and No. 2 is doing what many business owners do — spending a lot of time and money promoting products and services that are not good and that customers do not value. They’re creating word-of-mouth all right, but not the kind of word-of-mouth they had in mind.

      Questions to ask yourself (and your customers):

      •Does my product/service provide value?

      •Is my product/service highly rated compared with other available alternatives?

      •If not, what can/should I be doing to improve quality and perception?

      •If yes, what can/should I be doing to encourage and increase WOM?

      •If not, should I be spending any more time/money promoting my product/service when the outcome might actually mean I'm spending money to generate more negative word-of-mouth?

      There are two key factors at play here:

      •First, word-of-mouth, as demonstrated through the WOMMA study and others, definitely has an impact on consumer perceptions and, ultimately, sales.

      •In today’s digital communication environment, the ability for word-of-mouth to reach audiences is heightened significantly, consequently, having the potential for greater positive, or negative, impact.

      It used to be that word-of-mouth was managed primarily through providing great service. While companies might have received negative feedback from consumers, that feedback was not likely to reach far beyond their four walls — unless the media picked up on a story. Today, of course, the media picking up on a story is not an organization’s main concern. Today, organizations are equally, if not more, concerned about what the general public is saying about them through online channels where digital messages have the power to reach millions in minutes.

      How Social Media is Changing Advertising and PR

      In the “old days,” there was advertising and there was PR. Advertising was paid communication that we created about ourselves. PR was communication that we earned through creating relationships and clever pitches to the media gatekeepers who would then share information about us on our behalf. Social media represents a new communication option that has had, and will continue to have, a marked impact on both advertising and PR.

      Advertising is expensive. It costs a lot to get our messages out in a way that will be meaningful and impactful, especially given the cluttered media market. To stand out, we have to be bigger, bolder and in front of people more often than all of the other messages — not just our competitors’ message, but all other messages. That can be tough and costly.

      PR, while not paid media, is still expensive. It’s time consuming. And we lack control over when, if, or how our messages will be conveyed (although in a media environment where newsrooms are increasingly short-staffed, it’s more likely that our releases and contributed content will be picked up than in the past).

      Social media is the next evolution of PR. It lies somewhere in between. Unlike advertising, it’s not paid. Unlike PR, it’s not someone speaking on our behalf. Social media is us, and others, talking about us, in forums where we may or may not have control. And that’s where the evolution begins. When social media works well, it is affected by input and spread by others. Our initially controlled message is responded to, forwarded, appended and carried away into cyberspace where it can develop a life of its own.

      Because of social media, traditional advertising is becoming less important to many organizations, while PR is increasing in importance. Yet how we practice PR is changing. With the growing popularity of social media, the “work” of public relations is far different from what it used to be. Traditional news releases are arguably becoming, if not outmoded, at best “different” in use and purpose. We now have the ability to research and reach out to media around the globe in an instant and the ability to research (i.e., “spy on”) media outlets, reporters, sources, etc. Not to mention a much greater ability to monitor and measure results.

      Even if your target audience for a media message

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