Like most areas in Marketing, the field of Public Relations (PR) has changed with the advent of Digital. Brands must now leverage digital channels to encourage visibility and Word-of-Mouth. Terms like Digital PR have emerged, where marketers now integrate Traditional PR with Content Marketing and Search Marketing. For example, PR practitioners can work with IT departments to ensure that the right keywords are being used to improve Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Content that would generally just be used for press releases, can now be repurposed into an array of new content like blogs, infographics, and presentations.
To explore the topic further, we spoke with one of our partners, Brand Communicator, Dania Beckford, about the current state of Public Relations, the importance of the craft and how it has taken on a new form in the face of digital transformation.
MSM: Hi Dania, thanks for having this chat with us! How long have you been practicing PR?
DB: I have been practicing for 14 years.
MSM: Wow. Fourteen years is a long time! What have been some of the biggest changes or developments you’ve noticed in these 14 years?
DB: Well for sure the emergence of social media marketing and the inclusion of social influencers as essential tools for integrated marketing communication. However, even that development is what I call full circle because it takes us back to the simplicity of marketing which in my opinion is ‘word of mouth’, only this time we are all using the internet as the engine.
MSM: I totally agree with you about the simplicity of marketing going back to "word of mouth." A lot of people may not realize that the same phenomenon is at the root of you telling your next-door neighbor about a product you use and you sharing it on your social media profile. Do you think that social media has made the practice of PR harder in any way?
DB: No, it has actually made it easier! It is one more avenue to take advantage of; you can choose to have an organic build-up to your product/service or you can monitor your reach based on your ‘spend.’ It gives accurate data based on clicks/likes/followers/fans/reposts which allows us as practitioners a clear indication of the results of our input.
MSM: That’s so true! We have so much data at our disposal than we ever did before. What do you think Is the biggest misconception marketers have when it comes to PR in a digital age?
DB: That social media marketing is easy and that everyone can do it. It is actually a specialized area of marketing/PR and like any other specialized area, it must be done by those who are proficient at it. Strategy is necessary, it is not just about putting out content with hopes that it goes viral.
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That’s why Dania fits so seamlessly into our consultant network. We all share the opinion that work gets done holistically when we integrate and take multiple approaches.
Is your brand interested in taking an integrated approach to your Digital Marketing, Traditional Marketing, and Public Relations? Send us a note or give us a call to set up a meeting.
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