Digital PR here and now.

With the news that British web users are now spending 65% more time online than they did three years ago, online PR has never been more important, report industry specialists.

Such a leap in the amount of time spent online illustrates the need for businesses to have a strong online presence. Businesses have the opportunity to use such trends to their advantage to spread their message to the internet masses in ways previously unknown.

The research, compiled by the UK online measurement company, was based on the online activities of 40,000 internet users. On average, British users spend 22 hours and 15 minutes – almost a full day – on the internet each month.

The way this time is distributed displays a clear shift towards the importance of social media with, on average, 22.7% of this time spent on either social networking sites or blogs. Second to this was email, with 7.2% of time online used.

It would seem that such an onus on the use of social media and blogging illustrates that these are platforms in which businesses must engage with in order to remain relevant and potentially increase revenues.

The change in internet surfing habits highlights that people are now subjected to online advertisements and digital marketing like never before. Thus, businesses need to ensure they maintain a suitable rapport with their consumers, and the internet now provides a clear device in facilitating this achievement.

Now is the time to focus attention on new avenues, starting with perfecting a sharp digital pr strategy to stand shoulder to shoulder with the big boys.