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â–¶ Agency Optimism High: A Q4 2011 survey of member PR agencies by the Council of PR Firms finds that 70% reported that final 2011 revenues will be higher than those in 2010. Just 13% anticipate lower revenues. About half of the member agencies experienced double-digit growth, with figures consistent across all revenue categories. Other study findings include:
• Over a third (35.5%) of agencies anticipate higher budgets in 2012, up from only 21.8% in the Council’s Q3 survey.
• More than 60% of agencies reported increased head counts at the end of 2011 as compared to a year earlier. A majority of firms anticipated boosts in hiring, while fewer than 10% predicted reduced hiring.
• Almost two-thirds of firms reported a swelling in the mid-ranked account executive/account supervisor categories, while half reported hiring in the entry-level positions and 46% in VP/senior VP. A third of all agencies planned to increase the ranks of non-traditional hires coming from outside public relations.
• About three-quarters of the agencies expect growth in social media, while over a third also expect growth in business-to-business, corporate communications and issues management.
Source: Council of PR Firms
â–¶ Small U.K. Businesses Slow to Take Social Media Action: While small business owners in the U.K. understand the benefits of online social PR, they are slow to enact social media programs and policies, according to a study released in Jan. 2012 from U.K.-based agency Williams PR. Specific findings include:
• Only one-third of small businesses in the U.K. have a social media policy in place.
• Of those that do, almost half (44%) are not confident about their policies.
• One-third of small businesses do not plan to have a social media policy in 2012.
• One-quarter of small businesses plan to trial a new marketing/communications agency in 2012.
• In 2012, 26% plan to increase their PR budget, 29% their social media budget and 25% their overall marketing budget.
Source: Williams PR