David Hickey is Area Director for the online media monitoring company Meltwater; helping businesses drive growth and build brands. You can find them over at Meltwater.com.

Today on Digital Marketing Radio we discuss the following:

PR strategy examples for 2015

Does traditional PR still work?

What PR strategies no longer work effectively?

How has social media impacted the way that good PRs communicate?

What’s a better PR strategy for 2015?

Are the wrong people interacting on social media?

Is there one social network worth focusing on?

Are traditional media releases still relevant?

Why you reach more people by focusing on the top 5 influencers

How do you encourage brand mentions?

Why you need to look for an emotional response on social media

How do you deal with negative brand mentions?

Is it a good idea to publicly interact with users who aren't happy with your brand?

Why the rise and rise of social media has been disruptive

Can PR professionals still control the company message?

What communication styles are particularly effective at the moment?

Is it best just to focus on the one social network?

Can you sell directly on social media?

Software I couldn't live without

What software do you currently use in your business that if someone took away from you, it would significantly impact your marketing success?

A great CRM system [Meltwater bespoke tool]

What software don't you use, but you've heard good things about, and you've intended to try at some point in the near future?

Zendesk [Client servicing software]

My number 1 takeaway

What's the single most important step from our discussion that our listeners need to take away and implement in their businesses?

Knowing what brand you are trying to build, and what communities you are trying to reach are two  key starting points for PR and social.