We have been in a new era of communication distribution for some time now, but who can really tell what is best.  Iwork in Advertising, so I should be selling Ad Services, right?  However this new thing called SocialMedia Marketing can cross multiple disciplines.  Thus Advertising, Marketing and PR must work together.  And it’s that very need to work together that brings me to question how to best use PR.  There really are three ways for me togo – DIY (do it yourself) at the Ad Agency, Use Tools like Market Wire or partner with a PR agency.

So, I think it’s important to consider all the options and how they can best serve the client. Sometimes a big PR firm is the right choice and sometimes doing something more tactical as a DIY in the Ad Agency will work. Of course the option between are many.  Let’s outline the following three tiers of options:

• DIY: If my agency is going to take on the responsibility of Social Media Marketing (SMM)to serve the clients PR needs, then we are going to plan some specifics for the client. Like a formal communication strategy that outlines for a response strategy.  Also a point of contact in the agency who will guide daily decisions using tools like Radian6 to read sentiment and make informed decisions.  If possible, canned responses will be ready or the client will response directly to Email Contact,Facebook friends or Twitter posts.
• Market Wire: If we choose a paid service to release our stories and build content, then Market Wire is a good mid level service to help with PR releases and SMM distribution and monitoring.  They are much less expensive than other choices, but not as far reaching or respected in the industry.  That street credit is mostly a factor of their years in business, but they are very appealing to younger brands and smart marketing on a budget.
• Business Wire – This is the 500 pound gorilla in the PR world. Brands with large budgets and the need for direct service reps would be most likely to go this route. Their level of content proofing, vetting and distribution is unparalleled.  Thus they are the best and the price supports the service.

These are some of the factors to be considered when deciding how best to service thePR needs of the client.  Also AdAgencies and PR firms can work together to best solve for the proper communications.  As usual, the business goals and needs must be greatly factored in order to justify the expense of different levels of service.

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