The PR industry reports that it needs and wants more training to remain competitive, with SEO and blogger outreach key areas of focus. The industry needs to grasp the nettle now if it is to remain competitive and relevant going forward.
The PRCA’s Digital Report 2015 highlighted the desire for increased training and information in wide areas of digital marketing.
In a fragmented media where the lines between PR, content, social and advertising continue to blur, truly integrated agencies recognise the need to compete in areas only recently associated with PR.
Increased investment in SEO
I’ve long argued that PR should ‘own’ search engine optimisation (SEO), as the creators of content and the experts in building inbounds links from successful influencer relations.
The PRCA found that half of agency people require more education and insight around SEO.
Influencing the influencers
Great news to come out of the report is the increased focus on content creation and the demand for content, including a 12% growth in the use of expert white papers.
Content needs to be relevant, engaging and answer the questions of an audience. There is no longer any place for hard sell or to drift off point, we simply no longer have the attention spans to tolerate unfocussed content. Keep it brief and on point, with a clear call to action, and then you have a chance at becoming an influencer in your own right.
There has been a significant rise in the amount of blogger relations work being handed to PR agencies, with an 18% growth. This makes sense, as it’s they who should know how to communicate with influencers. Having said that, I have written before how many PRs do not understand how bloggers work and how this is markedly different from how journalists operate.
If blogger relations is an issue for your organisation, get in touch about our half-day blogger relations training.
Digital budgets handed to PR continues to rise, the industry just needs to make sure it is in a position to not only service those budgets and help clients achieve their business objectives, but also to remain competitive and relevant going forward.
If you would like to learn more about formulating a digital strategy, please contact us.