PR agencies vs. Social Media

PR agencies today are faced with a great challenge – social media. Social networks have a big influence on consumers, because they are free and are used by a large number of people. Less and less small and medium sized businesses hire PR agencies to promote them. Instead they rely entirely on social media.

• Further reading: Content Marketing Solutions for Small Business

Logically, a few questions appear: Is this the demise of public relations companies? Is social media going to replace them?

PR Evolution

It is a fact that traditional promoting and marketing strategies are quickly evolving. In the past PR companies were very popular, because they had the contacts small and medium-sized businesses needed. Today, however, free social media websites and networks give companies a larger and more diverse audience and a list of useful contacts.

In addition, social media works way much faster than traditional public relations companies. Now information spreads faster than ever. As a result, many PR agencies try to adapt to the new social environment, but very few are successful.

Advantages of Social Media Marketing

Any sort of communications services (PR companies, social media, digital marketing, email marketing, etc.) are successful as long as they return the company’s investments and reach the target audience.

However, social media and networks give companies the chance to use different tools with which they can follow their progress. Such tools are, for example, web traffic counters, rankings and rates. With them business owners or companies’ executives can easily see whether their business is heading in the direct direction or not. In addition, social media can target specific audience, which means that it enables companies to better reach their potential clients.

Time for a Change

Marketing is constantly changing. Today, it is the social media and tomorrow it may be something else. That is why if PR companies want to survive they need to follow and know the tendencies in marketing and business. As a result, many public relations companies are now turning to social media to create a new kind of PR.

Currently, we can’t say that traditional PR is dead. Nevertheless, the social media rise is pushing companies towards more modern and popular solutions which largely involve social networks.

*By New Media Group – the most powerful independent content marketer and social media services provider in Dubai and the wider region. The firm publishes www.dubaichronicle.com, www.bride-wedding.info and it is preparing the launch of www.abudhabichronicle.com. For inquiries, please write to Info@newmediagroup.biz.