The Public Relations industry has seen huge changes in the last five years. New forms of communication has brought new specialist talent and offerings.
I spent six years in traditional PR agencies before moving to digital marketing where I spent a further six years specialising in SEO and working in-house with my clients to integrate digital marketing.
I know how many specialist agencies there now are offering communications.
I also know how PR agencies can compete and tap into new budgets.
Here’s how, in three steps..
№1. Automate your workflow to free up time
The new competitors are here for a reason. They are specialists. Whether it’s paid influencer work, content seeding or media relations for SEO links, they have taken time to up-skill in their area of communications.
There are SO many new areas of comms now that it is almost impossible to learn about them all without stopping work completely. You need time to learn.
More time in PR… It sounds like a dream doesn’t it? It’s not a dream. You can have more time but you have to automate to make it possible.
Don’t worry, the robots aren’t here to take all of our jobs. But let them take the rubbish admin so you can free up hours in your week.
Automating areas of your workflow i.e. using tools to speed up work. Will give you time back each week. Precious time to learn new skills or get better at measuring your work…
№2. Prove the return on your client’s investment
The biggest learning for me when I switched from a PR to digital marketing agency was the lack of real proof of impact in PR reporting. This is what the new digital competitors do very well.
There is no silver-bullet in PR measurement. The answer will come with a clear objective linked to an organisational goal and KPIs in place to meet it. It will take time to do this well so plan for it.
Tools for measurement will help. And as we’re talking about digital communications, analytics will be almost essential. Gain access and learn more. We’ll help you here.
With all PR measurement remember….
Talk the language of business. Not just PR business.
№3. Explore SEO link building budgets
You might not expect this one but it’s big! SEO (Search engine optimisation) link building is probably the biggest area for budget growth in Public Relations, ever. I know as I have pitched and won these budgets.
‘SEO link building’ may sound alien but it’s actually VERY similar to the work that you do right now; raising awareness of your client and their content through quality coverage. The only difference is up-front strategy and reports.
You’ll need more than this post alone to nail step 3, but i urge you explore this more. Read my presentation from the PRSA International PR conference (above). I reveal just how big these budgets are!
Then, if you want to know how to get started in terms of strategy and reporting for SEO-PR read my ebook ‘PRs Digital Resolution.
For now, I recommend you take the first step; give your admin to the robots to free up time to learn. They love it.
