While the industry has changed dramatically because of social media, public relations is entering a new boom. The increasing power of PR is a central focus of Vocus’ annual PR and marketing conference being held June 5-6 in Washington, D.C.
While marketing automation remains the focus for companies wanting to deliver ROI, it also provides incredible statistical data that allows PR practitioners to study buying behavior. Data and measurement are showing how important earned media is to the bottom line.
Expert content from media and trusted bloggers offers 88 percent better lift (likelihood to drive someone to buy) than branded content, according to Nielsen. User-generated content offers only a 38 percent “lift.” While everyone continues to concentrate on content marketing, the data shows that people trust media and their peers more than branded content.
As third party-generated content becomes more important, brands are refocusing on public relations tactics, including traditional earned media, social media, and newer approaches to creating trusted content through native advertising. Specifically, PR pros are now called upon to build loyal online communities, develop branded content that works, run native advertising campaigns, integrate with traditional marketing functions, measure media impact on brand and the top of the funnel, and handle rapid-fire crises.
To address these needs, two of our Demand Success keynotes include:
- Web Analytics 2.0 author and Google Digital Marketing Evangelist Avinash Kaushik
- World-renowned crisis communicator and inspiration for the hit TV show “Scandal” Judy Smith
Experience speaks volumes, which is why Demand Success will feature corporate communicators and PR leaders from:
- NASA
- HootSuite
Finally, we have thought leaders to address the emerging trends in online content, such as:
It’s amazing to see how quickly the industry is evolving. This new world of PR is very complicated! Time demands, distractions, rapid change, and the need to adapt can leave anyone spinning on what to do next. And they can eat away at your personal life.
We have answers. Our opening keynote, Randi Zuckerberg, will draw on her experiences serving as an entrepreneur and Facebook’s marketing lead to share methods of handling distractions.
All in all, it should be a fantastic conference. We hope you will join us. If you do decide to attend, use the code PRSAIT250 for a $250 discount.
Breeanna Straessle is the director of public relations at Vocus.
