As communications evolves at a faster pace than ever before, so client demands change rapidly. This requires communications professionals to have a wider skillset. In this podcast, I talk to Danny Whatmough, Head of Social, EMEA for Weber Shandwick, about the skills PR teams need in 2016 and beyond.
Danny Whatmough, Weber Shandwick
Each year the Public Relations Communications Association (PRCA) runs its digital skills report. Key to the report’s development is Weber Shandwick’s Head of Social for EMEA, Danny Whatmough, who runs the PRCA Digital Group – of which I am also a member.
In this five-minute podcast, we discuss the widening skillset required by communications professionals, especially around content creation and distribution, including Paid Media. Danny explains that PR professionals must understand the role of content and identify the right talent to help create that content.
They must also understand the role of data in PR to measure its impact to counsel on the evolution of that content strategy.
What I found interesting in what Danny says is that the pressure for rich content does not solely come from consumer-focused clients, but B2B as well. Business-to-business firms may have a reputation for being slower off the mark when it comes to digital marketing but there is clearly an opportunity for agencies to counsel B2B clients yet to experiment in content marketing to start.
What is apparent is that to remain competitive PR agencies must maintain regular digital marketing training.
What do you think about what Danny has to say? We look forward to your comments.