The ways local and regional Long island businesses are using public relations services is undergoing dramatic and rapid change. These changes are driven by the shift of communication to web-enabled technologies. Business to consumer (B-to-C) communications are continuing to integrate marketing campaigns across media (print, web, TV, and radio). As national brands shift advertising dollars to the online marketing channel, social networks have become an important place to directly engage customers. Local and regional businesses are starting to explore the use of social networks to reach new customers and retain current customers. Business to business (B-to-B) is using web marketing to deliver more precisely targetted white papers, reports and interactive webinars to drive qualified leads.

Leading PR companies are recognizing that it is important to add web services to their traditional media realtions. Epoch 5 is a good example of a company that is using online social media for public relations on Long Island.