First, let’s get this out of the way: I know some very smart people in the PR field. Yes, some of my best friends are PR people. m ready to conclude that many PR agencies don’t really get it when it comes to social media. Recently I was made privy to a social media plan authored by a client’s PR agency. The stated objectives of said plan were: * increase awareness amongst bloggers, influencers and prospects. If I were to have written the plan, the primary objectives would have read: * drive search-generated traffic and net new sales leads. All true. MORE >>

A recent Gartner survey asked the question “Who is leading social media initiatives in your business?”. 10% said “PR.” B2B Blogger35% of the respondents answered “Marketing.” Nobody said “Sales” or “CRM” teams. The immediate conclusion to this is that companies are still falling short of using social media, and the web to listen. While marketing departments are getting much better at tracking brand in the B2C space, most B2B organizations would most likely hold their hands up and say they still ‘don’t get it.’ There’s no time in the day to use it. MORE >>

Michael Pranikoff (@mpranikoff ) and I met a few years at a PR Newswire event when I participated on a panel he moderated about social media (NOTE: Full disclosure, I am a client of PR Newswire). Q: You’ve been at PR Newswire since 1998. I’m not saying that the newswire industry has never been susceptible to a hoax before, but there are multiple security steps that are taken to protect the integrity of the content that is syndicated over PR Newswire. If you enjoyed this post you may also want to read the following: StockTwits and PR Newswire partnership. MORE >>

Some of the more forward-looking PR firms I work with are looking to supplement traditional PR offerings with demand generation services, using marketing automation software such as Marketo and HubSpot to track prospect’s actions to “nurture” them with additional content towards a sale. The types of services customers need are well suited to what PR can provide. PR firms already have deep relationships with clients, and understand – and in some cases helped create – their branding messages. Except I just did. Or is it too far outside their core compentency? MORE >>

A common goal among many companies that hire public relations agencies is: "We want to use PR campaigns to increase sales.". Why PR Doesn't Drive Sales. There's No Science Behind PR Success Data - Typical PR campaigns are measured by the number of media coverage / placements per month. Sure, a PR retainer includes content creation, strategy, etc., Sales reps don't care about Public Relations They care about the number of good leads, not the original source of the lead that introduced them to the company. Create remarkable content. MORE >>