For the last few months The Heavy Chef Project has been hard at work demystifying online reputation management (ORM) to marketers – and with great success I might add.
And with our Heavy Chef Events on this particular topic around the corner, we’ve been noticing increased queries around the role of PR agencies in assisting with the management of brands in the online space? A relevant question indeed.
UNDERSTANDING PR AGENCIES EXPERTISE
At it’s core Public Relations (PR) agencies focus on building relationships; now if that is true, one has to admit in a world where relationships and networks are increasingly empowered through the power of the web, there has to be a very prominent role for PR Agencies to play in particularly managing brand relations online.
Furthermore, PR agencies skills can be found in:
Clear understanding of clients business (incl. tone and style of a message)
Ability to craft and spread a message through a mix of media
Extended media networks
Management of crises
More skills can be added to this list for sure; clearly a nice alignment with ORM can be seen.
THE BAD NEWS
Unfortunately, the above-mentioned skill-set does seem to be true mainly in theory. The general sentiment that I’ve picked up is that PR agencies are stuck in the old mindset of sending out press releases to mainstream media based on a rationale of stats and demographics – and particularly applying this same method of communicating to the online space. Essentially, as Valeria Maltoni puts it “PR is having a hard time letting go of the pitch”.
THE TIE-IN WITH ORM
ORM’s success lies partly in choosing the right technology to pick-up mentions and conversations around your brand. However, the biggest distinguishing factor in optimising ORM for your brand lies in what you do with those mentions and conversations. With that in mind, I believe PR agencies can have a huge role to play in looking after your ORM – but only if they stay true to their understanding and belief in relationship building.
For the last few months The Heavy Chef Project team has been hard at work demystifying online reputation management (ORM) to marketers – and with great success I might add judging by interest from our readers.
And with our Heavy Chef Events on this particular topic around the corner, we’ve been noticing increased queries around the role of PR agencies in assisting with the management of brands in the online space? A relevant question indeed.
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