May 21, 2015: Before my PR firm, LVM Group, was acquired a little over a year ago, I considered myself reasonably capable in the realm of integrated communications. After all, I had a Facebook account, tweeted occasionally, and was active on LinkedIn.
Now I know that “reasonably capable” was not a fair description of my skills. A more accurate description would have been “somewhat clueless.” Fortunately, my new colleagues didn’t let me stay that way for long. Thanks to them, today I know much more about how PR fits into the marketing mix. More specifically, I’ve learned three important things:
- The press release is not dead. Yay! Count me among the people who not only like writing press releases, but also believe they serve a useful purpose. So I’m thrilled that by incorporating appropriate links and keywords into press releases, we can support other forms of marketing, such as search engine optimization (SEO). Which brings me to …
- The elements of integrated marketing reinforce each other. Reputation management is no longer exclusive to public relations. Positive media coverage generated through traditional PR can be shared on social media and via e-blasts. On the flip side, it’s easier to decrease the influence of negative coverage through SEO and search engine marketing. In other words, integrated communications gives us more methods of increasing or decreasing exposure.
- Regular blogging is essential. In traditional PR, we work hard to position people as expert sources. Blogging gives us another means to accomplish this. That said, to be effective, the blogs should target specific audiences — or “personas.” The off-beat stories that my firm used to include in our print newsletters (e.g., my boss’s love of cocker spaniels, my dislike of the word “dude,” and my persistent ignorance of baseball rules) are unlikely to serve a useful purpose for business development. The best blogs, in contrast, answer questions or address concerns that our prospective and current clients have, and are, consequently, a powerful tool for inbound marketing.
I’ve also learned that the annoying cliché – one size doesn’t fit all – applies to the world of integrated marketing. Every company has different marketing needs. Some are best suited to an SEO campaign; others to traditional PR. Some can benefit from all of the services in the marketing spectrum. That’s why it’s reassuring to know that even though I’m no longer a dinosaur, I can call upon my colleagues at Didit (my parent company) when a PR client requires additional marketing support.
I still have a lot to learn, but I’m going back to saying that I’m “reasonably capable.” So go ahead. Ask me about microblogging. Ask me what PPC stands for. I’ll have an answer for you. Just don’t ask me about baseball.
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