By: Lianne Wiker Hedditch
Over the past ten years, one of the most changed industries due to the tech boom has been the public relations industry.
I can remember the days when PR pros used to have to call and ask for five minutes on the phone to get our pitch across to journalists. Only a small population had a smart phone, and to check my email, I needed to find time to get to my computer and boot it up. Only a small group of college kids knew about Facebook, and Twitter and Instagram were future phenomenon.
Now, reputations can be built (or broken) without even seeing one another face to face. PR pros calling journalists has become a nuisance, and sharing and “liking” on social media has become something that, if forgotten, can tarnish a relationship. Mom bloggers working out of their homes now have more social media followers than some major print publications, and new online outlets are popping up by the minute. Web traffic is king, and the ability to optimize SEO and track audiences for clients has become an invaluable asset. All of these balls, PR pros must master how to juggle to remain relevant and on top of the trends. Traditional PR is gone, and true integrated marketing campaigns have become necessary to make the biggest splash for clients.
It is crucial for PR professionals to stay on their toes when it comes to the changing industry, as campaigns now have the ability to spread uniform messaging across multiple channels, both old and new media. I personally attended the University of Chicago Graham School to earn my Master’s Certificate in Integrated Marketing, where I studied Digital Strategies and Search Engine Optimization, and everyone on our team is consistently attending seminars and following news trends on the industry and changes. The knowledge of digital strategies, which we have implemented for our clients and our agency successfully, is invaluable to being able to optimize our campaigns to the best of our ability.
With a keen understanding of what it means to stay relevant with rapid industry changes and emerging communication networks, Heron Agency prides itself on pioneering new technologies, social platforms and applications. From being the first entertainment firm to craft an e-mail database targeting Chicagoland lifestyle enthusiasts, now with 50,000 contacts, to launching a YouTube channel to showcase clients’ amazing talents, the Heron team has showcased cutting-edge, forward thinking techniques since the beginning.
This is why we are so thrilled to announce that this New Year, we will launch Heron Interactive. This branch of Heron Agency, which already serves six clients, will handle the social and digital needs for our campaigns. Heron Interactive services provide fully integrated digital campaigns including SEO management and consulting, social media campaign management and content creation, video creation, analytics tracking, social media advertising and more.
Follow us at www.heroninteractive.com or at our social channels, @heronagency.
