Last evening, Kristin and I attended the first technology event held by the Portland branch of PRSA (Public Relations Society of America). The title was “Understanding Real Media“, which had two sessions:

• Leveraging Video as a Social Media Choice
• Reputation Management Through Measurement and Monitoring

Being PR professionals, the presenters made very compelling cases on why traditional media and PR outlets are blending into the “new media” and outlets of the web. They all agreed that the new media has totally “disrupted” the PR world. The first point here was that new media producers, such as online video producers, can and do have reach in this new world.

One example of this was Jack Hardy of Niche PR showing how he not only leveraged video for PR in the social media world, he had received the same press credentials as the New York Times at the SES event because of his influential Video Podcast, The Public Eye.

This leads to the second point; with the growth of this “new media” and outlets, a company’s reputation and brand can be strengthened or hurt on the web if the company or it’s marketing professionals have apathy towards the medium(s). One great quote about this by Ryerson Schwark of Mentor Graphics (paraphrase) was that building an online reputation is a marathon.

Therefore, if companies aren’t actively building their reputations online, the marathon is taking place without them. As they sit on the sidelines waiting to participate, they fall further behind in shaping their brand while others (3rd parties and competitors) have already started doing so.

The best part for Amplify-Interactive and the SEO/SEM industry as a whole is that long-time PR and marketing professionals are now understanding the power that the online world and new media/social media world has in today’s market. Whether those professionals look at creating blogs, going into Social Media platforms such as Facebook, use podcasts, or actively monitor and build their reputations online–they will need SEO/SEM professionals involved.

So, nice to meet you guys. Welcome to the party…did you bring beer?