Last week I had the pleasure of taking part in an event organised by PRCA Scotland to mark the launch of their new report on Digital PR. The report itself was remarkable for the insight it provided on dwindling in-house staff resources for social media activity, contrasted with the realisation amongst that paid-for content is now the only realistic way to achieve a real impact on social media. The latter is certainly something that Orbit and other consultancies have been trying to convince clients of for some time.
For me, whilst the information in the report will undoubtedly shape way in which Orbit engage with Digital PR in the future, particularly around content creation, the thing which struck me most was the need to remember that Digital PR is only likely to be effective by not forgetting some other communications basics at the same time. Specifically, that the purpose of any campaign must be clear from the start and well-planned with clear messages and measurements of success. Only then can a PR team ensure that each lever pulled to the right extent, at the right time, with the right content and, crucially, targeted at the right audience to meet whatever the objectives agreed at the outset were.
There is undoubtedly more work to be done by consultancies and in-house teams on how to use the new tools we have at our disposal but we must also ensure that they are used in-line with fundamental principles of engagement to ensure that we deliver the outcomes not only that our clients want, but the ones that will help them drive the goals and objectives of their wider business.
Finally, I would like to thank my fellow speakers, Thom Watt and Ruth Lee for certainly adding to my own knowledge and education around the future of Digital channels and how they can be put to best use in the future.
