New Commandments of Online PR

e-consultancy has posted a new white paper on the state of online PR and how to do it well. It’s definitely worth downloading. Here are the main takeaways:

• The rise of user-generated content (UGC) and blogging means that there is a growing need to be able to monitor, engage with, and respond to what is being said about you, your brand, product or service online.
• Another way of identifying influential voices is to go into online communities and get to know people by talking to them
• Discussion and remarks in forums and bulletin boards account for a very large proportion of comments made about brands.
• The idea of brands posting covertly on forums or bulletin boards is “a big no-no.” It can backfire spectacularly if company employees masquerading as normal people are identified as brand representatives.
• The “embarrassing dad syndrome” is also to be avoided (where brands turn up when they are not really wanted).
• If brand representatives are taking part in forums it is important to get the tone right and to be as candid as possible.