1. The rise of the PR, search and social agency
PR agencies are expected to grasp traditional and online media, as well as create communities on social media and manage social channels. Agencies will be expected to have the capabilities to run SEO and PPC campaigns also.
2. The demise of the traditional PR agency
Closely related to no 1. - traditional agencies that focus on media relations still exist, typically having been around for quite a few years, and with owners that are making a nice living from servicing clients that gain enough business from media mentions. However, the integration of additional services, such as SEO and social media management, into the traditional PR offering will become commonplace as more and more clients demand everything under one roof.
3. Creating content has never been more exciting
We are all being bombarded with content and have never been more receptive to receiving it in so many different ways. From videos to infographics, we no longer want to just read about something, instead we want to see the information, engage with it and pass it on. As long as you know who your audience is, and what makes them tick, delivering your message in an exciting way has never been easier.
4. Marketers demand better analysis
PR is often hard to measure, but with so much more of our exposure being online, measurement is getting easier. From social shares to click-throughs and sales generated from a piece of content, a detailed level of analysis is becoming the norm.
5. Speed of response
With the growth in importance of social media there is an increasing expectation from marketers and journalists for instant responses to issues, so speed of response will remain key in 2015.
6. More journalists jump ship into the PR fold
With more newspapers and magazines turning from print issues into digital publications, an increasing number of journalists now work for more than one publication or are jumping ship to take up positions within PR agencies. We see this trend continuing as more journalists take on the freelancer mantle and put their writing skills to use within the PR fold.
7. The general election
In the UK, the election is going to drown out a lot of other news, but may present PR opportunities.
8. Economy will boost fees
Thanks to a recovering economy, there will be more confidence in marketing spend and we predict that 2015 will see many agencies experience a fee income rise.
9. Competition from pure social agencies
As well as threats from other PR agencies, smaller agencies may get squeezed by competitors in the content marketing and pure social media agency sector if they don’t embrace search and social as well as traditional PR.
10. Continuing boom in smaller specialist agencies
We predict a strong year for specialist PR agencies that focus on one particular sector. Specialist agencies offer clients far more value since they can hit the ground running, without the need for investment time to learn the sector trends they should be focusing on and which media contacts to approach with their clients’ news.
