Is 2014 The Year of PR?

I recently attended a PR in 2014: Social, SEO, Media & more… breakfast presentation that was hosted by Business Wire. MC Serena Ehrlich who summed up the year ahead, “2014 is the year of PR and distribution.”

In 1994 it took seven touch points to convert a sale, in 2014 it will take 23 touch points. Sales and PR did not use to be linked. PR was meant to educate and manage reputation. Marketing and advertising handled converting awareness to sales. Those lines might have been straight until social media. Combine those with search engine marketing (SEM) changing daily, and there is a whole new model for success. PR, social and advertising have to be strategically linked through ever phase of the marketing plan. Before launching a new marketing campaign and asking, not expecting, customers to convert you should also consider these extra tips:

• Produce higher quality content. People see through fluff. Know your audiences, the mediums and the messages. One size does not fit all.
• Share your news out to your own organization and sales channels internally, even first, before your external audiences.

So is 2014 the year of PR? Only if PR is part of an integrated content and marketing strategy.