PR deals with managing perceptions that target groups have about brands. Targets can range from the public at large to niche audiences from local government officials to electrical distributors. With small and start-up businesses, gaining a reasonably level playing field for gaining the attention of key audiences against larger and more established competitors can be hard going. Nevertheless, as online marketing and communication strategies become more sophisticated and effective, the perception gap is narrowing.

Websites can showcase SMEs and entrepreneurial enterprises to great advantage through exceptional design and content. Through proactive e- marketing, online PR and high quality consistent SEO strategies, websites can become the focus for attracting interest in the company and influence perceptions powerfully, with success rates being tracked and evaluated through web analytics. For relatively little cost, it can progressively become an organisation that people have heard of and then start talking about.

Not only talking, but tweeting and posting messages on Facebook – and the company can join in that conversation, providing their audiences with news and insights in a way that was never possible by traditional methods of communication, such as advertising, the printed press or broadcast media. Now that mobile devices are increasingly used to access the Web, an entirely new way exists for communicating with people when they may be at their most receptive.

One of the most interesting factors about social networks is how they can the power of personal reference on a grand and international scale. People everywhere are swapping opinions and experiences. Small businesses with high quality products and services can find champions from all walks of life to testify to their excellence and support their development in the marketplace.

When this happens, they are well on the way to reaching a level playing field for public perception with the major players in their marketplace.