13 Jan PR Agency Model Dies in 2017
The brick and mortar PR agency, built on a model that hasn’t changed since the 1930s, is ripe for disruption. In this digital / mobile age there’s no reason to pay for bureaucracy and overhead at the expense of creativity and results. It’s time for the PR agency model to be uber-ized.
In fact, it’s time for the entire industry to go through a re-set from bottom to top. I have a lot of thoughts on this but let’s start with the basic practice of creating and disseminating content.
Content creation and distribution (together, content marketing) is essentially what PR has evolved into (I define content as media coverage, press releases, blog post, white papers, et al). The value of that content is really the only true measure of PR effectiveness. The value of quality content compounds over time.
Questions PR pros should ask when creating content in this digital / mobile age:
- Can you write a press release, blog post, white paper, et al without first knowing the clients’ keyword and SEO strategy?
- Can you write a press release, blog post, white paper, et al, without first knowing the marketing objectives of the content?
- Is all content produced responsive on all devices?
- What is the amplification value of your content through social properties, RSS, syndication, et al over time (digital asset management)?
Traditional brick and mortar PR agencies are anachronistic organisms that stifle creativity and innovation. If marketing isn’t talking to editorial, and SEO is an entirely different silo, you’re missing the connections and not achieving the potential value of the content.
If the intention of PR activity is to develop and nurture leads that can potentially convert to new customers and sales, then a lot of thought needs to go into content before it’s created.
More to come on the “new PR.”
Follow me on LinkedIn or on Twitter @markrose | @finsquared
