At PR, social media and SEO agency, Punch Communications, they have, over the years, focused on how social media and search engine optimisation have altered the traditional PR landscape whilst encouraging their clients to view the three disciplines as one complementary solution.

This year the approach has been thrust into the spotlight, particularly as so much prominence has been placed on expert content placement and relevance, says Account Director, Keredy Andrews

Google has always remained firm on the fact that any content and links produced on websites needed to be appropriate and valuable, and that those abusing the system would be penalised. However, Google recently announced some changes to its webmaster guidelines which have impacted the way links should be best incorporated into content and also highlighted the worth of social sharing. This reiterates that relevancy and quality, as well as campaign integration, is here to stay and that anything written on-site or created off-site needs to adhere to these guidelines.

The rise of social media is undeniable with a growing body of statistics that is hard to ignore says Caroline Beswick, Managing Partner of Trinity Public Relations.

In 2012, 33 million adults used the internet daily, compared with 16 million in 2006 according to the Office of National Statistics. One of the most popular online activities in the UK is reading the news. Almost half of adults (48%) now use social networking sites and for the younger age group (16-24 year olds) this leaps to a massive 87%. While social networking is lower amongst the older generation – it is by no means an irrelevant figure with just one in ten over 65s using social networks. So, it would seem that social media use now spans generations, demographics and professions.

Don't undervalue PR's worth

Many leading brands across the world utilise social media extremely effectively and it’s fair to say that for most companies, social media is now a critical component of an effective marketing strategy. The potential audience reach is undoubtedly appealing, particularly if you’re heading up a new marketing drive for your company or appointing a PR or marketing agency and want to be able to attribute these types of figures to your campaign.

So, we’re agreed - social media does indeed give clients and marketing agencies a new “playground” to communicate in and the potential to reach – and crucially interact with - a huge audience. However one word of caution - it would be unwise to see social media as a total replacement for other PR and marketing tactics. In our experience, it is important to keep an “open mind” in particular at the brief and pitching stage and consider social media (networks such as Facebook and Twitter) as a package alongside so-called traditional communication routes (e.g. a double page spread in Good Housekeeping or the headline interview for the company spokesperson on Radio 4’s Today programme).

What is all this about Google killing PR? If anything the Google Webmaster update has made it more important than ever for marketers to consider PR agency selection and recruitment to help boost SEO.

Shock, horror they have done it again. Google have put another stop to a loophole that cheeky techies have been using as an extra tactic to boost their website SEO.

We were digging around the back catalogues the other day and found this arther provacative article, which made our eyebrows, and we're sure those of marketing agencies everywhere, raise a few inches. Kevin Roberts of Advertising Agency Saatchi & Saatchi makes four big claims in his article entitled ‘Marketing is dead’. These are:

1. Strategy is dead
2. Management is dead
3. The big idea is dead
4. Marketing as we know [it] is dead

It's quite a statement, but reading further, we find ourseves agreeing with Roberts’ support points. Cynically, however, we suppose, in true Saatchi style, his headline points were meant to provoke. The social movement has changed the face of marketing and of the marketing agency. As did the internet. TV. Radio. Moveable type, etc.

If Roberts’ goal was to shock and generate discussion around the change that the industry is experiencing; he succeeded.

But, it’s our view that brands will continue to engage with audiences in order to drive sales and as the industry fragments further, moving from one to many communications toward one to one interactions, the role of the marketing agency and advertising agency will become more important. While the current marketing landscape and social tools allow the top 10% of brands and products to generate organic awareness and interest, this won’t be the case for the majority of firms and products. Most will still look to specialist firms to save themselves the learning curve of implementing full marketing programmes internally.

What do you think? Is marketing dead? How do you think the role of the marketing agency change in the years to come?

by Guest blogger Ronelle Bester, Managing Director, Red Ribbon Communications

by Pete Goold