( January 14, 2008 ) - Facebooking, Twittering and LinkingIn are now part of the everyday routine for many, which in turn is creating big business for the sport of 'hanging out online.'

While 2007 was the year social networking blasted into the corporate world with the likes of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, and social media outlets like Digg, Del.icio.us and StumpleUpon became household names, companies need to know what is in store for their 2008 public relations strategies.

"To employ an effective public relations strategy in 2008, companies need to include a strategic online approach that includes more than just optimized press releases and an online newsroom," said Lisa Buyer, president and CEO of The Buyer Group. "More now than ever, pr is redefined with the opportunity to communicate and interact directly with clients specific targeted audiences. Whether these audiences find their information at multimedia forums, such as YouTube and FlickR or they subscribe to a specific blog that feeds to their Google™ home page, online public relations provides a powerful tool for getting the word out."

Recently attending the Internet strategies conference, Webmasterworld's PubCon, The Buyer Group shares the following insights for 2008's best public relations and branding tactics.

8 PR Strategies for 2008 - Trends for 2008

1. Google Analytics: Public relations has never been more measurable with analytics programs that tell where your visitors come from and how they interact with your site.

2. Bloggers: Don't underestimate the power of blogs and pay attention to the influential blogger; 85 percent of journalists monitor blogs for story ideas and sources.

3. Local Search: Hone in on the local market and get better results in a more efficient manner with avenues like Google Local Search and Local.com.

4. Content is King: Adding new content weekly to a Web site via press releases, articles and blogs is one that will get your site found in search results and in turn, drive qualified traffic and generate leads.

5. Optimized Web sites: Aim for 250 words and two keyword phrases per Web page.

6. Online WOMM: 15-20 percent of all Word of Mouth Marketing (WOMM) is happening online via social networking and online reviews creating more influencers to spread the word.

7. Social Media: It's matchmaking for business. Targeting and connecting to your target market is becoming easier as networks such as Facebook add millions of new users each week. If you're not on it, join it.

8. Online Reputations: Monitoring and interacting with reviews on sites like Yelp can drive traffic to your Web site and generate sales - pay attention to online conversations.

Source: The Buyer Group at http://www.thebuyergroup.com