10 Traits of an Emerging PR Pro
The PR industry will change more in the next 10 years than it has in the last 100.
Pricing models, core service offerings, professional training programs, academic curriculum, campaign success measurements, software, industry leadership, media and public relations’ role in the marketing mix are all rapidly evolving.
Relationships and communications will remain the foundation of the PR industry, but they will be fostered through search engines, social networks, Websites, self-published content (i.e. blogs, status updates, videos, case studies, eBooks), mobile apps and the media (mainstream and social).
Risk takers and visionaries will redefine the industry. Professionals who choose to take action and accelerate the evolution will thrive.
The Hybrid Professional
As we wrote in the Dawn of the Inbound Marketing Agency, the new, social-media savvy PR professionals will be expert copywriters (as most PR pros are), with dynamic personalities that enable them to build strong personal brands.
Professionals will be trained to deliver services such as: content marketing, social media consulting, blogging, search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising, mobile marketing and Website development, as well as evolved forms of publicity, brand marketing and crisis communications.
In essence, they will be a hybrid professional, providing integrated solutions for PR, Web, SEO, advertising and branding that used to require multiple agencies and consultants. As a result, these complementary, yet competitive, industries will converge.
Traits & Tips
1) Social-Web Savvy: Monitor and participate in forums and social networks relevant to your interests and the industry. Get active on Twitter and become a part of the conversation.
Also, accept that for most of the professional world Facebook is a vehicle to communicate and build business relationships, and companies will hold you liable for what you do and say online. If this scares you, check out 10 Privacy Settings Every Facebook User Should Know.
2) Inbound Marketer: Build inbound marketing campaigns based on permission-based marketing strategies (i.e. SEO, blogging, PPC, content publishing, social networking) that enable your organization to connect with qualified consumers online when they are actively looking for what you offer.
3) Publisher: Publish content, either on your own blog or as a contributing author on an industry or company blog. One of your greatest assets as a PR pro is your ability to write, so always seek opportunities to strengthen your technical and creative writing skills.
4) Analyst: Learn to love data. Emerging PR pros don’t hide behind impressions and ad equivalency, rather they are judged by tangible success factors such as search engine rankings, Website traffic, inbound links, leads and sales.
5) Relationship Builder: Remember that relationships are still built face-to-face. Get out from behind the computer screen and mingle with your peers, clients, prospects and the media.
6) Lifelong Student: Continually expand your knowledge and capabilities beyond the traditional skill sets of PR, advertising and marketing professionals. Consider ongoing training and education in the areas of search engine optimization, social networks, analytics, pay-per-click advertising, digital publishing and mobile marketing.
7) Thought Leader: Challenge conventional industry wisdom and practices. Always bring new ideas to the table.
8) Risk Taker: Take calculated risks, and don’t ever let fear of failure hold you back.
9) Tech-Savvy: The tools that we use to communicate and market are constantly evolving. The PR industry of today is no place for stubborn traditionalists. Always be researching and testing what’s new, and what’s next. Stay informed on emerging technologies, and consider their application to your organization and career.
10) Game Changer: The PR industry is going to change with or without you. Don’t be left on the outside looking in.
Related Posts:
- How PR Firms Can Rule the Marketing World
- 7 Things to Know When Hiring a PR Firm
- Dawn of the Inbound Marketing Agency
Paul Roetzer is founder and president of PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. He can be found on Twitter @PaulRoetzer.
Stay updated: Subscribe to the PR 20/20 blog, check us out on Facebook or follow the team on Twitter.
Reader Comments
David Prior
May 06, 2009 9:02 AM | Permalink
You're spot on here Paul with the concept of a hybrid professional. To my mind it's impossible to delineate between social media marketing, online PR, SEO etc anymore - they've all blurred into one integrated solution that all serious PR/marketing people need to be offering to their clients.Paul Roetzer
May 06, 2009 9:10 AM | Permalink
Thanks, David. I think PR professionals are best positioned to crossover into other areas, but there's nothing stopping advertising/marketing/branding professionals from doing the same thing.Tremendous opportunities exist for the firms and professionals that are willing to invest the time and resources needed to become hybrids.
Hope all is well.
Richard Tseng
June 03, 2009 10:27 PM | Permalink
Though still a student, I look at the ways in which Ad guys like Alex Bogusky and Lee Clow are becoming public spokesmen for their agencies and their work, and I look at ways in which advertising itself has really crossed boundaries with all these new platforms, and it seems the blurrier these different professions become the clearer it gets that what matters is the solution.Advertising gets increasingly radical because advertisers know you get legitimacy from third-party ('free') media. With the plethora of sources and soundbites around on the web alone these days it seems third-party legitimacy is the only way to really get attention, whether it's referrals, blogs or press. The agencies are also striving more and more to make 'non-ads' and gain greater coverage. So you're completely right, the three industries are likely to meld into one in future with a demand for pros who can pinpoint which solution best solves the problem.
Andrea Tannouri
November 09, 2009 12:07 AM | Permalink
Hey Paul,Just watched your testimonial vids on Hubspot's website, you have a fantastic blog here that I've been browsing tonight.
So if one wanted to become a "Hybrid Professional" and had no university training in any of these arenas what programs / certifications would you recommend to hasten and facilitate the journey? I'm a self taught internet marketer; I have clients and I want to really go for this because I'm passionate about it and want to do a better job for them!
Here are the resources I've found so far:
Hubspot's Inbound Marketing Certification
http://www.inboundmarketing.com/university
(Just got the Inbound Marketing book, most of this I know)
Certificate from UC Irvine Extension: http://unex.uci.edu/certificates/business_mgmt/social_media/
International Social Media Association
has a Certified Social Media Specialist program (@MariSmith)
http://www.ismaconnects.org/
American Marketing Association has many offerings including a Social Media Boot Camp but no official Social Media certificate
http://www.marketingpower.com
Cost of the above vary from free to several thousand. I've thousands of dollars worth of Internet & New Media Marketing training from various sources already but no certificate and things change so fast you have to learn something new every day anyway - which I love!!
I'm the sole earner in my family with a small child so my current telecommute as an entrepreneur works very well for me. Any advice you could give would be most appreciated!
=D Mahalo and have a fantastic work-week!
Paul Roetzer
November 09, 2009 7:50 AM | Permalink
Andrea,Thanks for the comments. Inbound Marketing University is a great place to start, in addition to HubSpot's Webinar archive: http://www.hubspot.com/marketing-webinars.
Google also offers some excellent free training on Adwords - https://adwords.google.com/professionals - and Analytics - http://www.google.com/analytics/education.html.
While certifications can help expand your capabilities and client base, we've found that organizations often are most interested in success stories, starting with your own business (i.e. prove this stuff works, and that you have the ability to produce results).
Hope that helps. Be glad to chat offline any time if you want to share more ideas and resources.
Paul
Andrea
November 09, 2009 8:14 PM | Permalink
Hey Paul,Yes, thanks, it certainly does!
You bring up a really valid point (companies being interested in proof that this stuff works, and that I have the ability to produce results). Thanks for the insight.
The reason I started doing this work for others is because of the results they saw of my own work online, and they asked me to do for them what I was doing for myself. So, I'll keep doing as I've been doing (learning as I go)!
Thanks too for the additional resources. Excited to check them out!
Will definitely take you up on the offline chat sometime. Delighted to connect with you.
Mahalo! =D Andrea
Mike Principal
January 16, 2010 3:43 PM | Permalink
So to make a conclusion I dare say that some of the tips that you've provided us withare no more acute cause of some changes in Google's ways of search - that happend mainly because of some new filters.Anyway, some of the tips are still up-to-date.Good post!Leave a Comment