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The PR services landscape is constantly evolving and as the years pass, the changes we witness happening at an ever increasing rate. The question is, are PR agencies and industry professionals doing enough to keep up in this dynamic landscape?
PR professionals are ultimately communicators, whether they’re writing or speaking. They have to think on their feet and retain a deep knowledge of the media landscape they are operating in. But are they familiar with the latest SEO strategies or InDesign? What about video-editing? Do they know the latest engagement and optimisation strategies for social media channels?
Clients want to know what a PR campaign is going to do for their business. It’s no longer enough to show them newspaper clippings and mentions from different outlets. With more analytics platforms available, clients can track the impact of PR efforts. Analytics proves whether a PR programme is working, helping not only to perfect existing strategies, but also to predict trends that will impact on future ones.
Beyond traditional press releases and feature articles, PR agencies need to focus on writing effective blog posts. Agencies need to explore new content options. Twitter, YouTube, e-books, presentations, white papers, case studies and other collateral should be incorporated into a PR organisation’s arsenal. By adapting to this new era in the industry, agencies will be much better placed to offer more tailored and more effective PR campaigns for their clients.
The following is a brief and summarised look at how media tools and platforms have evolved in the industry:
Reporters to Bloggers
Direct Mail to SMS
Next day news to Next hour news
Press conference to Twitter chat
Product shots to Pinterest
News clips to News links
User feedback surveys to Social media chatter
Press kits to On-line content
Focus groups to Facebook friends
Live demos to Video demos
Evening news to Twitter
TV to YouTube
Online news to Mobile news apps