25 years of change for PR agencies… from metrics to social media

The PR agency model has changed enormously in the 25 years since I started Ilk Agency. The biggest change for us has been social media. Our first social account was Ilford Film and we managed a MySpace account for them! 

Social and paid now make up the largest team within the agency. I would predict this will continue to be our biggest growth area, certainly in the medium term.

The other huge change is in terms of metrics and evaluation of performance. This has very much been driven by the evolution of organic and paid social as core service areas.

Because these ‘new’ areas were suddenly supported by data, and success was both more measurable and more forecastable (particularly regarding paid social), it meant that activity has been forced to become far more specific, efficient and targeted.

Measuring social media

My feeling is that the emergence of these enhanced measurements in social media has, over the years, driven up client expectations and standards in other areas of marketing. 

For example, in PR, while coverage is still hugely important, the way that we assess that coverage – in terms of measures like backlinks and DA [domain authority], rather than hoary old metrics like AEV [advertising value equivalency] or even OTS [opportunity to see] – has changed wholesale. 

Likewise, it’s no longer enough to judge above-the-line creative according to how much the client likes it (although, hopefully they do!), it’s got to perform on social media, and prove, in hard data, its ability to connect with its audiences.

It’s a far more sophisticated and rounded means of assessing marketing impacts and it’s revolutionised how the modern agency needs to think about its work. 

Video is great but you can’t beat a face-to-face client meeting

Thankfully client relationship is one area that, to a degree at least, has remained consistent. We have always had an open and honest relationship with clients where we are absolutely seen as a partner supporting them. That remains the same today.

Obviously, video calls have become a big part of our day-to-day, and they are often useful in terms of coordinating often complicated diaries and avoiding travel. 

But I still 100% believe in the benefits of meeting face-to-face in terms of building relationships with clients. 

It’s just much easier to connect with people across a table than it is through a web cam. You can read people and situations better, and generally get a feel for who your clients are, as well as what they might be saying. 

In our sector, that really matters. 

The audience shift has been massive

The way that audiences consume their news has been massive and it’s something that will keep evolving. Audiences are often bypassing traditional media completely or accessing them in a different way. 

The younger audience may still engage with content from traditional media sources but they will access them through their social media accounts, whether that is TikTok, X, Insta or, for older audiences, Facebook.

Direct online news outlets can still be highly relevant, but as ever it depends on the demographics you are targeting. 

We recently pitched for a client with a much older age profile and so from a comms perspective traditional news outlets, linear television and Facebook were the key touch points.

Despite these changes, one thing that hasn’t changed since 1999 is that it is vital to really research your target audience and not just make assumptions based on your own consumption habits. It sounds obvious, but it’s an easy trap to fall into.

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It’s tough out there now for agencies

The advice I would give to anyone running an agency or business during a time of economic uncertainty, is to focus on your core strengths. 

A mistake we’ve made in the past is expanding into areas whereby we don’t have the same depth of knowledge and experience as elsewhere. 

All services need to evolve in line with the market, but reaching too far can be an expensive learning process in terms of ensuring expertise and generating new business. In uncertain times, my feeling is that it’s wiser to double down on what you’re really good at.

Also look after your team. As an agency, your employees are by far the biggest cost – but that’s because they generate all of the fees! 

We’ve got a great record of holding onto key team members for the long term, with a good number of the team with us five, 10 and 15 years. This provides consistency for clients and the business, as well as avoiding the cost of recruitment which can be painfully expensive.

One other thing we have always done is ensure a diverse roster of clients in regard to sector. Over time you may naturally develop expertise in certain sectors (for us beer, coffee, health and fitness and construction have been sectors where we have lots of experience) and that’s only a positive. 

However, by making sure you work across several of them at any one time it means the business is more insulated against economic peaks and troughs that may occur in specific areas.

Employees have far greater leverage now

The employer-employee relationships has changed significantly over 25 years. Employees now have far greater leverage, which is a really positive thing. 

When I first started working in agencies, I really felt I was lucky to have the job and that my employer had all of the power and influence.

That has changed. I think employees are far more empowered and recognise their worth more than they ever did. I also think as there has been quite a lot of growth in our sector over the last few years, meaning that opportunities to switch employers are far more available.

Over the last six months, I have noticed the labour market really open up and we are being approached far more by both agencies and individuals directly. I guess if the labour market starts to feel a little more uncertain there could be a slight change but I think the balance is probably about right now.

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Keeping on top of new legislation

It’s always a challenge to deal with changes of policy but ultimately, all you can really do is adapt and do your best to roll with the punches as they come.

In terms of being proactive, in my experience the best thing is doing everything you can to stay informed (via media and trusted social media for example), and then using that knowledge to get a jump on what might be coming down the pipe – particularly when it comes to things like budgets in spring and autumn. Normally, you can get a feel for what’s coming by tracking the financial and economic media. 

Over the last 10 years or so the biggest policy changes to deal with have been things like GDPR and various tweaks to employee rights; changes that manifestly alter both internal and external processes/workings. For obvious reasons, no business can afford to get those things wrong or to ignore them. 

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A recent example is the autumn budget’s changes to employee national insurance contributions. 

That’s something that will have a clear financial impact on businesses, not only in terms of forecasting but in terms of bottom line too. Naturally we’ve immediately started looking at the impact of that for us and working to ensure we factor in all the necessary changes to our accounting.

But really policy changes are things to be listed in the ‘uncontrollables’ category. You just have to plan as much as you can, while being flexible and agile enough to adapt and react to any surprises.

Nev Ridley is the founder and managing director of ilk Agency, an award-winning integrated agency based in Leeds, with staff in Manchester and London.