Which PR Agencies Are Doing A Good Job Using Social Media, Digital Communications?
By Tom Foremski - April 28, 2007
I was asked this question by one of my readers in Russia. Is it the large PR agencies or the smaller boutique agencies that are best at using digital communications and social media?
My reply was that while some of the agencies have pockets of knowledge and experience within them, generally, none of them, large or small, are using digital communications and social media well, or even reasonably well.
Yet they will all tell you, and their clients, that they have an experienced practice in new/social media.
If a PR company is not using social media to effectively promote and market itself--then how can it do it for its clients? It can't.
Show me a PR agency that has bloggers amongst its top execs and also across levels within its organization. And is using podcasting and vidcasting to represent itself.
Show me a PR agency that does that, and you will have shown me a PR agency that "gets" social media and digital communications.
There is no "generational gap" in understanding these things, there is an "experiential gap."
The only way you can know how to use these digital communications effectively is by doing. It is not something that you can read about and then do it.
(PS: There are a couple of smaller agencies that get it but they are very rare.)
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Comments (4)
I would have to agree. You've to get your hands dirty and get in there to understand how it all works. I've a blog and a wiki, under contruction, going on right now, but its been finding a unique and useful way to use a podcasting or vidcasting that would be useful for my agency and comunity at large.
Posted: April 28, 2007 3:06 PM
I went to Silicon Valley AMA event run on reputation management and was impressed with Andy Getsey of Atomic Public Relations. I haven't worked with him but he was saying all the right things, and he seemed to have a broad understandsing of what would work and what would annoy readers.
Posted: April 29, 2007 2:58 PM
I agree that the "doing" is what differentiates agencies who are actually using social media on behalf of clients. And yes, that's what we have been doing at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide with our 360° Digital Influence team. Our clients include Lenovo, Intel, Unilever, Snap-on and others. We have spent the past three years creating and executing digital strategy inclusive of social media programs. We tend to focus on creating sustainable word of mouth vs. flash-in-the-pan buzz. Many of us are bloggers and vloggers.
Size has less to do with an agency's success in this space. I have seen many a boutique who could not embrace social media for one reason or another.
My team is relatively lean while at the same time we are global. I have Digital Influence folks in London, Shanghai, and the States. We are more like a start-up inside a bigger agency (I have worked at start-ups).
It's harder and harder to generalize about agencies or which type "get it". You have to look at the work.
Posted: April 30, 2007 3:56 PM
John: Sounds interesting, I'd love to do an interview with you at some point--if you have the time.
Posted: April 30, 2007 5:25 PM