It was only yesterday, that thanks to John's presentation I was familiarised with Second Life. And I have to admit that I was speechless watching Derek (our professor) flying in a virtual place, in a white skirt (that he couldn't get rid of), jeans and a purple T-shirt (using An's account though:-)).
It is incredible to what degree technology has developed, and what people can do in their “second life”. I will not enlarge upon this issue though, but I only want to point out its role in Public Relations.
So, from a PR perspective Second Life seems to be an ideal "place" for the customers to interact with the brands. Virtual places remove the constraints of space and time and connect people who share common interests and ideas.
PR professionals could definitely take advantage of the opportunities that Second Life offers and enforce the relationships with their customers. Second life facilitates a new level of interaction and now the companies can receive immediate feedback about their products and services and so market them in a more efficient way.
Text 100 was the first PR firm that entered Second Life and as Andrew McGregor, Regional Director, explains in this video, everything is about brand building. Second life can build brand loyalty. It can spread the word about your brand. If you don’t do it, the competitor will do it first.
As analysts recently identified, by the end of 2011, the 80% of Internet users will have a “second life”, either in Second Life, or in other virtual worlds. That means that a great number of current and potential customers will be hanging about in virtual places. And PR professionals will have the opportunity to address, interact and gain a deeper understanding of them. It comes with no surprise then that more and more PR firms acquire their own virtual places. The PR battle will be soon transferred in the virtual world (if not already)…
2 comments:
Hi Evi,
Nice Blog, I remember Simon mentioning you recently, but never got a chance to visit.
I don't think that the PR Battle will be transfered to the Virtual world, but yes definitely it has to be taken into account (if not now, definitely in the future).
Currently I see so many PR agencies trying to get into Social Media which I know sounds weird, but it is true.
I recently was approached by a PR company as they thought I would be good candidate for their latest job as they are trying to get someone who knows about Social Media. So Virtual World is another Huge step for them.
Anyways, I think that PR can still grasp the technology much quicker than the Clients.
Try telling a Client that besides his head office, he should now have a virtual office as well.
Thanks for your comment. I agree with you that it is not probable that PR will focus only on virtual world, but I think this new channel, has a lot to offer to the companies. As more and more people every day open an account to Second Life, PR practitioners have the chance to approach them in a totally different way. And I think this is a great challenge for them...
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