Shift is an opportunity for PR agencies
It's probably not a surprise to anyone that four out of five marketing execs expect to see an increase in digital projects and the budgets to support them. Some of this should spell good news for the Public Relations field, which will be called upon to create content and push it out.
The 2010 Digital Marketing Outlook from the Society of Digital Agencies and reported this week by eMarketer says 81 percent of brand executives surveyed are expecting to put more emphasis on digital activities, including expanding use of social media. Half say they expect to shift marketing dollars from traditional media into digital work.
This could be worrisome for both "traditional" media and "traditional" ad agencies, who could see their budgets trimmed. For some p.r. agencies, however, it can spell opportunity.
Blogger outreach was listed as either a "top priority" or "important" by almost 63 percent of the senior marketing execs surveyed. More than 87 percent listed social networks as an important priority.
For blogger outreach to be effective, it requires more than technical proficiency with the various SEO tools. The key to success lies with the basics of publicity and media relations: knowing your targets, understanding their needs and giving them content -- useful info and ideas -- in a timely and respectful manner. In most cases, p.r. people should be better equipped to do this than ad agency folks or even the new breed of digital agency people.
The Digital Marketing Outlook report cautions digital agencies to "avoid complacency at all costs and continue to focus on...engaging consumers with relevant dialog in (these) uncharted and fast-moving channels."
If p.r. agencies heed that advice, they can cash in on some real and meaningful growth opportunities. And it will help keep the communications function where it belongs -- in the hands of public relations pros.
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