PR Week Study Finds the PR Industry is Struggling to Integrate Social Media

PR Week reported in “Top PR Firms Fail to Make the Grade Online,” last month that PR agencies are not doing enough “to capitalize on the explosive growth of interactive marketing, the incredible influence of the social Web and the oasis of opportunity in content marketing.”

The researchers used Website Grader, a free SEO tool that measures the marketing effectiveness of a web site, to evaluate the web sites of top PR agencies. The study gives detailed results and lists the scores of the top 25 agencies.

The study is based on the assumption that in order to be knowledgeable in social media tools, PR agencies need to be active in using those tools for themselves rather than just on behalf of their clients. The study rightly doesn’t claim that one social media tool, like blogging, is more important than another.

You can use Website Grader to get a free analysis of your web site.

Kami's Blog Now in the Second Round at PR Week

Congrats to Kami Watson-Huyse, APR, for making it to the second round of the PR Week competition for the "most worthwhile" PR blog. See my previous post, "Two Days Left to Vote for Kami’s PR Blog."

You can vote for Kami's blog, Commuications Overtones, until 5:30 est, Friday. She won't win any prizes. But it's fun anyway.

Two Days Left to Vote for Kami’s PR Blog

Yes, this is a shameless plug for our own Kami Watson-Huyse, APR. I know, I know, she has practically moved out of the country (Houston). But she has remained a member of the San Antonio chapter. And she was, after-all, our Del Oro PR Practitioner of the Year.

But this isn’t really about Kami. It’s about her blog, Communication Overtones. Out of hundreds of PR blogs in the country, hers is one of 32 in the running for best PR blog in a competition being held by PR Week. It’s PR Week’s 10th anniversary, and they have decided to honor “one of the most important technological advancements in content distribution of the past 10 years” – the blog.

Each blog competes with one other in a sort of elimination tournament. And there is only two more days to vote for Communication Overtones.

But don't take my word for it. If you've never read her blog, go check it out. It's really insightful and creative.

The second cool thing is that this contest presents you with a list of 32 PR blogs to take a look at. You may find a few that become good references for you or that you want to engage with. Once you’ve identified a few, subscribe to their newsfeeds through an iGoogle page so that you can receive their headlines in one place.