The power of the internet still under-utilised by business, says new report

The internet has 10 times more influence than traditional print media on the average consumer, says a report from global PR agency, Fleishman-Hillard. According to PR Week, the company interviewed 5000 internet users in the UK, France and Germany to determine the influence that the internet held over their buying patterns. The study concluded  – not surprisingly perhaps – that the internet was the most powerful medium for this group, with television second and traditional print media ambling in a disappointing third. The report cites travel, leisure and health as the sectors most dependent on internet usage.

Whether these results would be accurately duplicated within the industrial world is debatable; nevertheless, the fact that the internet wields incredible power in the b2b world is undeniable. And this makes another key finding of F-H’s research entirely relevant.

Despite all the evidence pointing to the diminishing effectiveness of ‘traditional’ approaches, promotional budgets are still grossly slewed towards print advertising, with online spend only making up a paltry 8% of the total in 2007. The report also notes the increasing influence of online PR , as advertising planning fails to adapt to the web 2.0 world. Yet many companies are apparently still cautious about using the power of PR to reach and influence customers. Surprisingly, it appears that technical b2b businesses are the the worst culprits.

While PR can sometimes seem like a black art, the simple fact is that a well-written press release can reach parts of the internet – and therefore customers – that other forms of communication simply cannot reach.  Well-written in this case means being accessible by both human and non-human readers. Combined with basic search marketing and clever dissemination, well-written PR is an extremely effective way to reach out to potential customers at a fraction of the cost of an advertising blitz.