ystems to supply data that show how your most relevant market conversations are going.

· Analyze site statistics to determine which of your efforts yield the greatest impact to revenue?

· Find, track, and join relevant online conversations in your market?

· Analyze online market conversations to recognize new opportunities and challenges?

· Interpret conversational data to gauge how you compare to the competition?

If you don’t yet know how to accomplish these and related key tasks of 21st-century PR, don’t worry. The best way to learn them is to partner with sma

To an amazing extent, markets coalesce around conversations. In fact, that’s what the popular slogan “Markets are Conversations” (thesis #1 in really means.

If your market conversation turns against you or dismisses you, all the brand awareness or media coverage in the world won’t save you. Sadly, most companies are totally clueless about key conversations happening in their marketplace. This is why we recommend a drastic step: Most companies should fire their current PR team. Traditional PR practice largely ignores key market conversations. Worse, it cannot offer the clear, bottom-line results that business demands. Instead, companies should hire conversation-savvy, results-focused PR pros – or learn to do their own PR by adopting 21st-century skills.

PR IS ALIVE AND WELL I’m not saying that PR is dead or worthless. In fact, smart PR practitioners and agencies are more valuable today than ever before. If you’re a PR professional, right now is a prime opportunity to reignite your passion, climb the learning curve, and move your career forward by leaps. And if you hire people to do PR for you, opportunities also abound to dramatically enhance your visibility and reputation. If you’re ready to shift your focus directly onto customers and the people they listen to, it’s time to update your PR skill set. WHAT IS THE PR SKILLS GAP? More often than not, PR professionals are hard working and dedicated. However, they generally don’t possess adequate technical skills (especially in measurement, analytics and ROI) to succeed in today’s environment. The general lack of appropriate, up-to-date technical skills is the Achilles heel of the public relations industry.

In the Web Marketing Association’s 2005 Internet Standards Assessment Report, public relations agencies ranked low across all categories (design, innovation, content, technology, interactivity, copywriting and ease of use). The PR skills gap is the main reason why it’s getting harder and harder for PR to justify its budget – or even its existence -- when the CMO comes calling for accountability. DO YOU HAVE THE SKILLS YOU NEED? How up-to-date are your PR-tech skills? Do you know how to:

· Design the online component of a campaign to turn media coverage into recordable, measurable results.

· Set up analytical systems to supply data that show how your most relevant market conversations are going.

· Analyze site statistics to determine which of your efforts yield the greatest impact to revenue?

· Find, track, and join relevant online conversations in your market?

· Analyze online market conversations to recognize new opportunities and challenges?

· Interpret conversational data to gauge how you compare to the competition?

If you don’t yet know how to accomplish these and related key tasks of 21st-century PR, don’t worry. The best way to learn them is to partner with smar

hat business demands. Instead, companies should hire conversation-savvy, results-focused PR pros – or learn to do their own PR by adopting 21st-century skills.

PR IS ALIVE AND WELL I’m not saying that PR is dead or worthless. In fact, smart PR practitioners and agencies are more valuable today than ever before. If you’re a PR professional, right now is a prime opportunity to reignite your passion, climb the learning curve, and move your career forward by leaps. And if you hire people to do PR for you, opportunities also abound to dramatically enhance your visibility and reputation. If you’re ready to shift your focus directly onto customers and the people they listen to, it’s time to update your PR skill set. WHAT IS THE PR SKILLS GAP? More often than not, PR professionals are hard working and dedicated. However, they generally don’t possess adequate technical skills (especially in measurement, analytics and ROI) to succeed in today’s environment. The general lack of appropriate, up-to-date technical skills is the Achilles heel of the public relations industry.

In the Web Marketing Association’s 2005 Internet Standards Assessment Report, public relations agencies ranked low across all categories (design, innovation, content, technology, interactivity, copywriting and ease of use). The PR skills gap is the main reason why it’s getting harder and harder for PR to justify its budget – or even its existence -- when the CMO comes calling for accountability. DO YOU HAVE THE SKILLS YOU NEED? How up-to-date are your PR-tech skills? Do you know how to:

· Design the online component of a campaign to turn media coverage into recordable, measurable results.

· Set up analytical systems to supply data that show how your most relevant market conversations are going.

· Analyze site statistics to determine which of your efforts yield the greatest impact to revenue?

· Find, track, and join relevant online conversations in your market?

· Analyze online market conversations to recognize new opportunities and challenges?

· Interpret conversational data to gauge how you compare to the competition?

If you don’t yet know how to accomplish these and related key tasks of 21st-century PR, don’t worry. The best way to learn them is to partner with sma

nd reputation. If you’re ready to shift your focus directly onto customers and the people they listen to, it’s time to update your PR skill set. WHAT IS THE PR SKILLS GAP? More often than not, PR professionals are hard working and dedicated. However, they generally don’t possess adequate technical skills (especially in measurement, analytics and ROI) to succeed in today’s environment. The general lack of appropriate, up-to-date technical skills is the Achilles heel of the public relations industry.

In the Web Marketing Association’s 2005 Internet Standards Assessment Report, public relations agencies ranked low across all categories (design, innovation, content, technology, interactivity, copywriting and ease of use). The PR skills gap is the main reason why it’s getting harder and harder for PR to justify its budget – or even its existence -- when the CMO comes calling for accountability. DO YOU HAVE THE SKILLS YOU NEED? How up-to-date are your PR-tech skills? Do you know how to:

· Design the online component of a campaign to turn media coverage into recordable, measurable results.

· Set up analytical systems to supply data that show how your most relevant market conversations are going.

· Analyze site statistics to determine which of your efforts yield the greatest impact to revenue?

· Find, track, and join relevant online conversations in your market?

· Analyze online market conversations to recognize new opportunities and challenges?

· Interpret conversational data to gauge how you compare to the competition?

If you don’t yet know how to accomplish these and related key tasks of 21st-century PR, don’t worry. The best way to learn them is to partner with sma

"_blank">Internet Standards Assessment Report, public relations agencies ranked low across all categories (design, innovation, content, technology, interactivity, copywriting and ease of use). The PR skills gap is the main reason why it’s getting harder and harder for PR to justify its budget – or even its existence -- when the CMO comes calling for accountability. DO YOU HAVE THE SKILLS YOU NEED? How up-to-date are your PR-tech skills? Do you know how to:

· Design the online component of a campaign to turn media coverage into recordable, measurable results.

· Set up analytical systems to supply data that show how your most relevant market conversations are going.

· Analyze site statistics to determine which of your efforts yield the greatest impact to revenue?

· Find, track, and join relevant online conversations in your market?

· Analyze online market conversations to recognize new opportunities and challenges?

· Interpret conversational data to gauge how you compare to the competition?

If you don’t yet know how to accomplish these and related key tasks of 21st-century PR, don’t worry. The best way to learn them is to partner with sma

ystems to supply data that show how your most relevant market conversations are going.

· Analyze site statistics to determine which of your efforts yield the greatest impact to revenue?

· Find, track, and join relevant online conversations in your market?

· Analyze online market conversations to recognize new opportunities and challenges?

· Interpret conversational data to gauge how you compare to the competition?

If you don’t yet know how to accomplish these and related key tasks of 21st-century PR, don’t worry. The best way to learn them is to partner with smart colleagues so you can leverage each other’s abilities. This is why we started our Capture the Conversation service – to help you do PR more effectively.

You can start learning right now how to navigate this newly exciting, challenging, and rewarding landscape.