The Future of PR – is it really digital?

Digital PR is increasingly being talked about in the PR and Marketing media. PR agencies are starting up divisions or spin off companies to focus on digital communications services for potential and existing customers.

There’s no doubt that online communication tools such as Twitter, social networking and blogs are all part of society today, but so are conversations at bus stops, in coffee shops and in people’s homes. These face-to-face conversations are driven by information from print newspapers, TV and word of mouth news and views. We’ve got to remember that not everyone spends their day connected to the Internet.

However, with ongoing technology developments, these online and offline worlds may be merging even further. At the recent CES event in Las Vegas, new innovations were displayed including the latest in combining TV and Internet. With products like the Samsung Widget TV, the traditional living room that is dominated by the family TV, may now give that same family easy access to the Internet via their TV screen. The need to boot up a laptop or computer in order to access the web will be a thing of the past.

The distinction between web-based and more traditional information sharing sources is definitely blurring. PROs and Marketers must remember that it’s essential to understand the target audience you are trying to reach and ensure you include the correct media channels in order to reach them. That means being aware of all online and offline channels, and with increasingly rapid technology advances there’s plenty to keep up to date with!

It’s an exciting time and one that PROs should embrace in its entirety rather than focusing on one area alone.

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Surrey networking: Tweet-up in Farnham, February 2010

Twitter has become an established part of the digital PR communications tool-box for companies around the world. Twitter has increased the opportunity help businesses engage effectively and transparently with target online audiences, whilst evolving established communication processes in the public relations and journalism sectors.

As a PR agency based in Surrey, and following the success of thebluedoor’s last Tweet-up in December, we have decided to organise a second Surrey networking event on 3rd February 2010. And we’re very pleased to thank locally based iBundle for kindly agreeing to sponsor the evening’s drinks. iBundle is an innovation hub for software and web companies, providing innovative new tools and services for their target markets.

As before, proceedings start at 7pm at the Slug and Lettuce on East Street, Farnham. For those that are driving, there is a convenient car park at Sainsbury’s on South Street, and the nearest train station is only a ten minute walk away from the venue.

The Tweet-up offers an opportunity to meet up IRL (in real life), network with the local digital community and enjoy discussing some of the key developments in the digital space.

I hope that this is the start a regular Surrey-based free networking event. All are welcome: PRs, journalists, developers, programmers, freelancers – in fact anyone on Twitter or in the digital space who is interested in meeting up for a drink and a chat.

If you’re planning to attend, please let us know via email (info at thebluedoor dot com) or leave a comment below. We wish all the local tweeting community a happy new year and we look forward to seeing you all again in person.

P.S.: Date for your diaries – thebluedoor is already looking forward to supporting the global charitable event Twestival 2010. We will therefore be organising a Tweet-up in Farnham, Surrey on 25th March to raise funds for Concern Worldwide. Further details will appear on our blog shortly.

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Digital PR: my education at thebluedoor

I am thrilled to be starting 2010 with an eight week internship at the Surrey PR agency, thebluedoor. After completing PR placements in London in the travel and tourism sector last year, I am eager to continue my education and learn from a PR agency that is growing rapidly with exciting prospects for the year ahead.

thebluedoor – its clients and its digital PR expertise – offered me an internship which I was delighted to accept. As a relatively new PR agency I felt that I would be able to both learn from their experience as well as significantly aid the team in implementing PR strategies and campaigns for their wide portfolio of impressive consumer, B2B and digital brands. And from speaking to the team, I know that the coming two months will greatly improve my knowledge of PR and the importance of digitised communication for businesses.

And I’ve not been disappointed: on my first day I was I was asked to help organise a Tweet-up, inviting interested Tweeps in the Farnham, Surrey and Hampshire areas to meet and celebrate Twitter and its effects upon the world of PR, communications and business. I’m really excited about this project as it will provide me with first-hand knowledge of digital and social networking tools such as blogs and Twitter, and getting to grips with their power beyond sharing what I’ve eaten for breakfast.I know I’m going to be challenged and supported whilst at thebluedoor, they have committed to ensuring that I learn rather than just being thrown in at the deep end. And having met the team, I know that as well as some hard work, there should also be plenty of fun to be had along the way.

Written by Liam Sherry, Intern at thebluedoor

Social Media and Online PR: Econsultancy's 2009 report

PR has been through a torrid 18 months, as have most sectors across industry. We launched thebluedoor in Surrey 20 months ago and have grown through the eye-of-the-storm. By taking the necessary lean approach, we are winning business, growing accounts but most importantly delivering our clients fantastic results and great service - exactly what we are paid to do.

Key to our offering is integrating online into PR communications strategies, which is why yesterday's report - 'Social Media and Online PR' from Econsultancy has been a must-read for us all.

WPP's Sir Martin Sorrell has been extremely vocal about the role online has in taking PR out of recession - it has an important role within any communications strategy. And this report into the state of the Online PR industry certainly demonstrates that his prediction is more than just crystal ball gazing.

Econsultancy is (in their words) "an invaluable resource for Internet professionals who want practical advice on all aspects of e-business". And, as a word of caution to the results, by its very nature, the people involved and interested in its community and research are digital practitioners or at the least curious about the role online has in business.

Just some useful insights into the social media and online PR industry include:

• Just 10% of businesses are not engaging with any social media activity
• Smaller companies are quicker to jump into the digital space and use the digital tools, due to their inherent ability to be flexible, as well as willingness to experiment
• Twitter's 'darling' status is clearly demonstrated: micro-blogging is the most widely adopted tactic used by 78% of companies
• 59% of respondents do not have social media rules in place for employees to follow

I was interested to see that 24% said that measurement - or lack of - was a significant barrier to more effective social media engagement and direct traffic to sites was the most commonly used metric to measure social media activity. I am currently working with Kate Hartley of Carrot Communications to produce the first online PR measurement guide for the PRCA. To be published in 2010, it is planned to be a useful, practical and informative overview of the best practice methods currently being used.

I have also got a keen eye on the types of agencies delivering social media and online PR for companies - particularly as the SEO industry is going through significant changes. Search is loosing its snake-oil qualities and its value is moving into reputation management, conversations and transparently - the pillars of PR. In Econsultancy's report the highest supplier sector is traditional PR agencies at 15%, followed by Digital agencies (11%), followed by Specialist online PR agencies and Search agencies level-pegging at 8%. (Interestingly 42% responded by saying that no external agency was involved in delivering social media and online PR activities.)

In Econsultancy's 2010 report, I am sure that we will see significant changes in this pecking order, unless traditional PR agencies work harder to up-skill and jump into the digital space properly. And this means using it and doing it rather than simply reading the books, blogs and research papers.

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PR sector and recession: in or out?

Last week I, along with many of the other managing directors of the PRCA's PR agency members, attended the PRCA/CorpComms conference optimistically titled 'Emerging from a recession'.

However optimism was certainly not high on the agenda. Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP, delivered the key note speech which firmly stated that any hope of an upturn was not being translated into fees or orders.

However he did highlight three trends for 2010:

1. Geographical focus: although the PR/communications sector is stagnant in Western Europe, there is a 'gold rush' in Asia.
2. Online is key to any PR offering and currently accounts for 25% of the WPP business - and this growing.
3. Agencies offering consumer insights are highly regarded by clients and seen to deliver true value.

In addition, Sir Martin did share the opportunities for the PR world (and as opportunities, these can easily translate into threats if not acted upon):

• Globalisation: there is a key shift in economic power from Western Europe through to Asia, Africa and Latin America. And for those of us in Europe, coming out of recession will be slower and tougher.
• Overcapacity: the PR industry in Europe is bigger than the client need, therefore differentiation is critical.
• War on talent: the global demographics are resulting in a restriction on the supply of talent, therefore it is vital that agencies continue to incentivise, motivate and retain good staff.
• Internet: understanding and embracing Web 2.0 is vital, along with the associated understanding that it is increasingly what we know rather than who we know.
• Retail: this is a powerful force, and brands will need to maintain - even increase - promotional spending in order to main shelf space.
• Internal communications: after this period of deep recession, a focus on internal communications is now more important than ever. It is vital that a 50:50 resource focus is put on internal and external communications in order to ensure that CEOs adequately communicate strategic and structural change.
• Client centralisation: with the opportunities of globalisation and the internet, agencies will experience clients becoming more centralised.
• CSR: even in the dark days of recession, CSR continues to be vital for businesses - not as a charitable or altruistic response, but due to its fundamentals of good business practise.
• Government: as the biggest advertiser, the government is the UK's most significant client and as such represents a huge opportunity for the PR sector.

Sir Martin ended by saying: "Things are less worse, not better.... and those with a strong focus on branding and innovation will win."

As a member of the audience, I feel hopeful that our innovative focus on helping clients to integrate digital PR into their communications strategies will enable us to continue to grow through the death throws of this current recession. I also feel hopeful for our clients who have positively, even ruthlessly, responded to the opportunities that the downturn has brought.

SEO Chinwag London event: a PR's round-up

There were some interesting insights at Chinwag's Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) event 'Search is dead, long live search'.

Chinwag had once again assembled a brilliant panel, all who contributed their expertise and opinions, including: Alan Patrick, Nick Garner and Teddie Cowell. It was chaired by Jon Myers.

As well as covering and debating current ground, the panel were asked to look into the future, and the following points were highlighted:

• Discount Bing at your peril: definitely one to watch and is growing share quite dramatically at the moment,
• the future of search is about conversations i.e. PR, and these conversations must be helpful and truthful,
• real time search is growing in importance: Google was taking four to six days to index Twitter, now it is six hours,
• hyper local relevancy is going to gain in importance,
• there are many people focusing on tackling filtering / relevancy of search results – these will lead the game,
• the war on spam from affiliates has only just begun,
• ignore mobile at your peril: markets such as Korea and Africa where mobile penetration is at 120% will be leading the charge imminently,
• there is currently a changing of the guard re: Google – they are the incumbents: innovation is being driven by the new kids on the block.

The event delivered lots to think about, but interesting that the SEO sector is moving ever closer towards PR. Therefore, an understanding of SEO is a vital skill for any PR agency to embrace.

PR - a guide to getting it right

I was recently asked an interesting question when chatting to a friend of mine: ‘What is the most important thing for a company to look at in terms of its PR needs?’

It got me thinking about all the usual questions organisations ask themselves such as:

• What makes a successful PR campaign?
• Does my company really need a PR campaign?
• How much will it cost?
• Do I need to employ a professional or can I do it myself?

While questions like these are a great starting point, in my opinion, there is one essential question when evaluating PR and marketing requirements: how do you want your company to be established in the minds of your customers, stakeholders, the industry and the media - ‘What is your external positioning?’

To develop an effective PR strategy you have to establish your organisation’s positioning. This is probably the single most important question to answer before you commit to any PR activity. The reason? Because it has a dramatic impact on the direction your PR strategy should take as well as the PR and marketing tactics you employ.

Yes, communications campaigns undertaken without clear positioning have the potential to generate media coverage, but they are unlikely to meet the company’s overall business objectives. And in instances the activity could adversely affect a company’s brand or image.

In order to clarify your positioning, I recommend that you answer the following questions:

• How is your business currently perceived by existing and potential customers?
• How do you want to position your business in the marketplace?
• Is your aim to lead debate rather than follow by establishing yourself as an expert in your sector?
• How do you want your existing and potential customers to see your company, its product or services?

And take the time to discuss your positioning with a PR professional. A good PR consultant should be able to help you assess your current positioning in the marketplace, highlight areas of public perception that may need addressing and help you ensure that together you develop a structured PR strategy with clearly defined aims, goals and metrics.

Once you have decided on how you would like to be positioned, the next step is to determine how to achieve these goals, define your communications strategy, identify your target audiences and set budgets and measurable targets.

Good PR is a craft, one that requires skill and expertise. Whether you elect to use a PR agency, employ an in-house PR professional or opt to manage your PR campaigns yourself be sure that who ever is managing your PR strategy:

• Understands your business objectives
• Has in-depth knowledge of the media
• Can develop a bespoke, strategic and integrated communications plan for your organisation
• Builds proactive and responsive relationships with both its clients and the media.

PR and SEO: living in harmony?

PR is currently experiencing a squeeze from other disciplines. As 'Search' becomes increasingly reliant on good content, SEO agencies are becoming full service agencies. Offerings are becoming broader to include PR. Perhaps this is not surprising as PR has traditionally provided the good, interesting, robust content.

However, I believe that this encroachment presents a Pandora's Box of potential problems. Granted - SEO and Digital PR agencies essentially want the same thing - a client with strong search rankings, with traffic converting into leads, even sales. But, the ways of getting there using each discipline is different.

As the PRCA says - PR is all about reputation. PR communicates compelling, robust messages - stories - to a target audience who finds it interesting, useful and relevant. Although 'reputation management' is a bit of a red herring, PR professionals are expert in finding the 'so what' factor - is it new and why would a journalist (and ultimately his or her readers) care.

At thebluedoor, we start at the beginning by understanding a client's objectives in order to advise on a route forward. And in the shiny exciting world of all things digital, this approach to delivering excellent PR must remain the same. The strategic rules of PR have to stay solid - whether it is online or off-line, and wherever possible it is our job to ensure that these channels are integrated. In order to understand the rules of PR, specific industry experience is a must - which is perhaps what not all SEO agencies have. Yes, all industries have good and bad practitioners, but good PR professionals have spent time in the ring. Results don't just happen (in the main): we will have taken time to understand a journalist's agenda, followed their published articles, read the relevant publications and obsessively followed the news agenda.

I feel that it is vital for the different disciplines of SEO and PR to remain true to their origins and not become diluted. Instead of becoming an 'expert' in all things to all people, our combined challenge is to understand each others different but related areas of expertise. Agencies must work together, complementing each other, to achieve the best results for our clients.

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