Digital PR is the professional maintenance of a favorable online image by a company. A Digital PR agency promotes a company via online blogs, websites, and social media.
The goal of a Digital PR campaign is to increase online mentions, backlinks, and the brand of a company, all of which are even more critical to a brand’s success now compared to previous years. Digital marketing PR has grown in popularity as the Internet has become more popular. The rise of social media has also led to an increase in digital PR, as companies can use these platforms to reach a wider audience.
In this post we’ll explore why digital public relations strategy is important. We’ll also touch on what a SEO company does, and share some examples.
Why Digital PR Is Important
Digital PR is important because it introduces a company to new target audiences. These introductions take place on search engine results pages and within editorial article placements on popular sites.
Digital PR is also effective in boosting a company’s website traffic. In many cases, digital press releases are picked up by media outlets and become the source of new inbound links to a company’s website. These links help improve the site’s search engine optimization, making it easier for potential customers to find the company online.
Here is how Digital PR benefits a small business:
- Improves SEO rankings. Google was founded as a hypertextual search engine. Backlinks are a key component to how websites appear in search engine results pages. Generally speaking, the more relevant the links, the better the website will rank. Digital PR helps secure backlinks at scale.
- Grows website traffic. The premise of public relations is to secure editorial coverage of a company. This editorial coverage increases referrals and helps grow website traffic.
- Builds brand. A reputable third-party platform can help introduce a company to a new audience. A digital public relations strategy builds a business’s brand by increasing the online mentions of an organization.
- Generates leads. When website traffic increases, new leads tend to increase as well. Digital PR increases organic search traffic and referral traffic through SEO.
- Increases sales. Digital PR helps build the trust of a brand. When a consumer trusts a brand, they are more likely to buy.
Types of Digital PR
There are many different techniques a digital marketing PR agency may use to drive results. In SEO terminology, these techniques are often categorized as “white hat” vs “black hat” vs “gray hat.”
Here are common types of Digital PR:
- Unlinked Mentions. Mentions of your company name that do not provide a link back to your website.
- Guest Posts. Writing and publishing an article on someone else’s website.
- Directory Inclusions. Adding your company website to a directory that lists other similar companies.
- Press Releases. Sharing newsworthy announcements to secure press features.
- Influencer Marketing. Gaining mentions on influential social media user accounts.
How is Digital PR Different Than Link Building
Digital PR differs from traditional link building in several key ways. First off, the purpose of Digital PR is to build relationships, improve brand reputation, and increase online mentions and visibility, whereas link building often focuses solely on acquiring backlinks to improve SEO.
Digital PR employs a holistic approach that integrates various strategies such as unlinked mentions, guest posts, press releases, and influencer marketing to achieve broader marketing goals. In contrast, link building typically revolves around acquiring backlinks through methods like directory submissions, outreach campaigns, and content partnerships.
When it comes to metrics, digital PR metrics include brand mentions, website traffic growth, social media engagement, and overall brand perception. Link building metrics primarily revolve around the quantity and quality of backlinks, domain authority improvement, and keyword ranking impact.
Digital PR campaigns often have a longer-lasting impact on brand visibility and reputation, whereas link building efforts may focus more on short-term SEO gains through backlink acquisition.
Both methods are both important strategies that contribute to a successful company and a growing brand. These strategies are most often used together at the same time for a more optimized marketing approach.
Digital PR Strategy
A digital strategy outlines how a company will improve SEO rankings. Typically, this outline includes ideas on increasing brand mentions and securing external links. In addition, a strategy may include an SEO audit, a backlink analysis, and the assignment of tasks.
Here are the cornerstones of a Digital PR strategy:
- Target anchor text. Anchor text is the clickable word or words that are linking from an external website to a page on your website. Target anchor text is how you would ideally like external websites to link to your pages. For example, linking “Technical SEO” would be more effective than “click here.”
- Target URLs. Target URLs are the web pages you will be promoting in a strategy. These are the web pages you would ideally like to drive more traffic to through organic search.
- Media list. These include the bloggers, journalists, and influencers you will be pitching to.
- Pitch. This is a templated script that teams can share with relevant bloggers, journalists, and influencers. It is important that each pitch is tailored to the specific outlet and includes a Call To Action (CTA).
- Content ideas. These are article topics that would be received favorably by external websites. The content ideas should also be able to be authored by a company.
A digital PR strategy should focus on quality over quantity. A small number of high-quality backlinks is better than a large number of low-quality backlinks. This is because high-quality backlinks tend to be more editorial and come from reputable websites. These links are also less likely to be removed. Low-quality backlinks offer little SEO value.
In 2022 and beyond, digital marketing PR strategies will continue to use the above to help improve SEO rankings. If you are interested in learning more about digital marketing PR or improving your own digital marketing strategy, reach out to Markitors today.
Digital PR Examples
Markitors uses three types of Digital PR: Community Panels, Thought Leadership articles, and Community Spotlights.
Community Panel
Community Panels are articles that feature answers from experts around a certain topic. Experts typically respond in 400 characters or less to predetermined question prompts. Editors then select the best answers from the community and create an article to be published on a blog or website.
Here is an example of a Community Panel:
Thought Leadership Article
Thought Leadership articles are long-form pieces of content authored by an expert. These articles are mutually beneficial for both a publisher and an author because they provide readers with valuable information and the author with a backlink to their website.
Here is an example of a Thought Leadership article:
Community Spotlight
Community Spotlights feature a question and answer interview with an expert. These spotlights can include a biography, achievements, insights, and more.
Here is an example of a Community Spotlight:
Learn more about Markitors’ digital PR strategy and find answers to frequently asked questions on our service page.
How Do You Run a Digital PR Campaign
Why is digital PR important? Because it can completely change the way your company is viewed and discovered online. Therefore, running a successful digital PR campaign is vital and involves strategic planning, execution, and measurement.
Here are the key steps to run a digital PR campaign effectively:
1. Define Objectives
Start by clearly defining your campaign objectives. Determine what you want to achieve, whether it’s boosting online PR reputation, ranking higher in search engines, generating leads, or maintaining brand awareness.
Your promotional tactic(s) will be based on your online identity and objectives.
2. Target Audience
Identify your target audience and understand their preferences, interests, and online behavior. Tailor your campaign messages and digital PR strategies to resonate with your audience effectively.
3. Research and Analysis
Conduct thorough research and analysis to identify relevant media outlets, influencers, social media platforms, bloggers, and journalists in your industry. Analyze competitor strategies, industry trends, and audience sentiment to inform your campaign strategy.
Keep your brand’s reputation in mind at all times.
4. Content Creation
Develop compelling and newsworthy content that aligns with your campaign goals. This could include press releases, guest articles, infographics, videos, and interactive content that engages your target audience.
5. Media Outreach
Reach out to media outlets, influencers, and industry experts with personalized pitches and press releases. Build relationships, offer exclusive insights, and provide value to encourage coverage and mentions.
6. Measurement and Analytics
Use analytics tools such as Google Analytics, Google Search Console, Ahrefs, and social media analytics to track campaign performance. Measure key metrics like website traffic, link building, brand mentions, social shares, media monitoring tools, and conversions.
7. Optimization and Iteration
Continuously optimize your campaign based on performance data and insights. Iterate on strategies, content formats, messaging, and outreach tactics to improve results and achieve campaign objectives.
It’s okay if something doesn’t work. Digital PR offers stellar flexibility as a strategy and change is inevitable, easy, and welcomed.
8. Monitoring and Reputation Management
Monitor online mentions, reviews, and feedback related to your campaign. Address any issues promptly and manage your brand’s online reputation effectively. This is a constant game and you must be locked in with your audience and space in the digital world.
You’ll also want to generate comprehensive reports that highlight campaign outcomes, ROI, KPIs, and actionable insights. Evaluate the impact of your digital PR efforts on overall business goals and adjust future strategies accordingly.
Digital PR Campaigns
How does a company measure the return on investment (ROI) or success of a campaign? Since SEO can take four months to a year, it is important to measure key metrics along the way.
Here’s how to measure the success of a Digital PR campaign:
- Google Analytics. Google Analytics measures an increase in traffic. This includes increases to referral traffic and organic search traffic.
- Google Search Console. Google Search Console measures digital marketing KPIs. Clicks, impressions, and position rankings for specific keywords and urls are in Console. Search Console also monitors “brand name” searches. An increase in brand name searches is an indicator that a campaign is working.
- Domain Rating. Domain Rating is a metric that shows the strength of a website’s backlink profile. This metric measures whether secured backlinks have made a website stronger.
- Social Media Shares & Followers. Social media shares show how many people found value in your initiatives. Followers show how many people engaged with your brand as a result.
- Leads & Sales. The ultimate measurement of a campaign is leads and sales. How many leads came through the website, and how many of these leads translated over to a sale?
Digital PR Tools
The Marketing Technology space has several thousand tools. We’ve narrowed the list of tools down to just a few to help with a campaign.
Here are common Digital PR tools:
- Google Analytics. Measures an increase in traffic, as well as conversions for leads and sales.
- Google Search Console. Measures an increase in clicks, impressions, and brand mentions.
- Ahrefs. SEO tool for measuring Domain Rating, conducting backlink analysis, and identifying unlinked mentions.
- Majestic. SEO tool that measures the trustworthiness of an external website.
- HARO. Help a Reporter Out (HARO) provides journalists with sources for upcoming stories. This vibrant community provides sources with daily opportunities to secure valuable media coverage.
- Tineye. A reverse image search tool that identifies where infographics and images appear online.
- BuzzSumo. Discover content ideas, influencers, and how often content is shared on social platforms.
- Gmail. Email platform to message bloggers, journalists, and influencers.
- LinkedIn. Social network to identify contacts.
Digital PR vs. Traditional PR
What’s the difference between Traditional PR and Digital PR? One is online, and the other is offline.
Examples of Traditional PR include:
- Print. Magazines, Newspapers, and Niche Publications.
- Media. Radio and Television appearances
- Event Coordination. Release parties, trade shows, and VIP events.
- Relations. Investor, Government, and Community Relations.
Examples of Digital PR include:
- Blogs. Guest posts, quotes in articles, and online profiles.
- Influencers. Social media shares, giveaways, and resource pages.
- Audio & Video. Podcasts, online videos.
- Inclusions & Attributions. Unlinked mentions, image copyrights, and directories.
Digital PR Tactics & Ideas
Here are some digital public relations strategies employed by experts:
- Relationship Building: This is about networking with the right people. Who are the right people? Link Creators, Content Marketing Managers, Freelance Journalists, and Digital Influencers.
- Media List Building: The key to a good campaign lies in the list. Good media lists are created with Site Credibility, Overlap, and Authority in mind.
- Monitoring: Timing is everything. Monitoring unlinked mentions, HARO, and social mentions are beginner tactics. Competitor Mentions, Misspellings, Reverse Image Search, and Q&A Sites are advanced tactics.
- Promotion: There is a lot of promotion within PR. Likewise, Social Media Ads and Email Campaigns can play a role in a campaign. So can Internal Links and Retargeting Ads.
- Analysis: There’s a lot of analysis in PR. Competitor Analysis, Backlinks, and Organic Search Trends are some of the analyses that are conducted.
- Links: To clarify, there’s a difference in what links “count.” DoFollow links count towards PageRank. On the other hand, NoFollow links do not. In addition, other link types include Internal, External, Broken, and Toxic.
- Submissions: Certainly profiles and directories are part of submissions. But, don’t forget Wikipedia.
- Social: Above all, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram are primary social platforms. Similarly, Facebook and Pinterest are good for PR. But, don’t overlook Slideshare, Scoop.it, Quora, and Reddit.
Businesses should use Digital PR to enhance their online visibility. The goal is to create a comprehensive digital marketing strategy that turns prospects into customers. The key is to focus on creating quality content that is shareable, and that will build relationships with influencers in your industry.
How Does Digital PR Fit in With Other Digital Marketing Services
SEO
Digital PR plays a crucial role in enhancing SEO efforts by building quality backlinks, increasing online mentions, and improving brand authority. Securing high-quality backlinks from authoritative websites improves domain authority and organic search rankings.
Positive media coverage and editorial features contribute to brand visibility and search engine visibility. Establishing a strong online presence through digital PR activities boosts trustworthiness and credibility in the eyes of search engines and users.
Content Marketing
Digital PR integrates seamlessly with content marketing strategies by amplifying content reach, enhancing content credibility, and driving content engagement. Leveraging media placements and guest posts amplifies the reach of content to a wider audience.
Positive media coverage, endorsements from influencers, and editorial mentions enhance the credibility and trustworthiness of content. Engaging with journalists, bloggers, and industry experts encourages content sharing, engagement, and discussions among target audiences.
Social Media Marketing
Digital PR complements social media marketing efforts by creating shareable content, leveraging influencer partnerships, and monitoring brand mentions. Developing compelling and newsworthy content encourages social sharing and user-generated content.
Collaborating with influencers and thought leaders on social platforms amplifies engagement like nothing else, amplifying the brand message. Monitoring social media platforms for brand mentions, reviews, and conversations enables timely responses and brand advocacy.
Influencer Outreach
Digital PR and influencer outreach work hand in hand by identifying key influencers, securing influencer endorsements, and leveraging influencer networks. Identifying and partnering with relevant influencers and industry experts enhances brand visibility, credibility, and reach.
Securing endorsements, reviews, and mentions from influencers adds authenticity, trustworthiness, and social proof to brand messages. Leveraging influencer networks and collaborations extends brand reach, drives user engagement, and fosters brand loyalty among target audiences.
Ready to Start a Campaign?
When done correctly, Digital PR will result in more website traffic, higher conversion rates, and improved search engine ranking. It’s a cost-effective way to reach your target audience and boost your bottom line.
Ready to start a campaign? In short, Markitors can help. We’re an SEO company for small businesses. We specialize in Digital PR, Technical SEO, and Content creation.
Want to test our skills? Google “digital marketing company.” You’re likely to find Markitors on the first page of search results. In other words, we practice what we preach.
Get started by conducting a free SEO audit or contacting us.
