Inbound PR

Chapter 3Inbound PR

Why You Need Inbound PR

When we think about what's happened over the past two decades, there are two key things to consider:

1. Our consumer and purchasing behaviors have changed, almost unrecognizably.
2. If you don't have an online presence, your brand doesn't exist.

Let's take a closer look at the first one.

The way we are influenced is very different today than it was a few decades ago. It's because we now have the power to let brands influence us or equally to not let them.

The process that we go through now to make decisions and buy products has fundamentally changed as well. We used to rely on direct sales and direct mail, TV and magazine ads, or media endorsements. Twenty to thirty years ago we didn't have the Internet; we couldn't really do much research on our own. We got our information from TV and the radio, and we relied on salespeople or the media to educate us on products as there was nowhere else to learn about new things or to find reviews. We also didn't need much convincing as the array of choice for products and services wasn't as extensive as it is today.

That's no longer the case.

We are a lot more sophisticated and empowered with hundreds of tools and technology. Essentially, our buying or decision-making process is a lot more conscious than ever before.

When we have a problem and need to solve it, the first thing we do is to go online and search for an answer. We go to Google or Facebook search, we type our problem, we check out websites, ...