July 13, 2023
Regardless of industry or niche, marketing budgets are ring-fenced and prioritised for services that can expand a brand’s reach, increase their awareness and consideration, build consumer loyalty and gain public trust.
Well, what if we told you there was a service that can do all of this – whilst also building authority online with Google, too?
No longer the new kid on the block, digital PR is becoming increasingly important for brands and companies to consider within their marketing budget. With all the key components of traditional PR now blurring their way into the service, digital PR can increase brand awareness, achieve publicity and attract relevant audiences – while driving the site’s organic performance, too.
Anyone who has ever worked in marketing will understand traditional PR. Usually in the form of brand placements in newspapers, magazines, on radio and television, unmissable stunts, advertisements or through sponsorship and hosting of events.
Traditional PR prioritises coverage that can drive brand awareness and gets the brand’s name *out there*.
Digital PR is a tactic of SEO where brands target online publications, websites or social media to gain brand mentions and prioritise building links back to the brand’s site to strengthen its authority within the market.
As Google continues to push SEO marketers to consider user-first, quality tactics, the crossover between the two forms of marketing is becoming increasingly apparent.
The fundamentals of both types of PR are the same – to get the brand known. Digital PR prioritises relevant audiences, to ensure they are reaching the right users who will engage with the site better. However, any publicity gained through digital PR will act in the same way as traditional marketing, having the brand name in front of anyone who accesses that article.
Both tactics can help build a reputation around a brand. For example, reacting to certain topics in the news, giving expert comments and advice and providing quality content that is helpful all sit at the heart of digital PR. This in turn will build a positive reputation and relationship with users.
Both aim for brand placements in publications and sites that the target audience are interested in to help increase chances of sales, conversions or drive performance for the company.
Whether that’s stunts, out-of-home campaigns or big creative pieces, data-led indexes, expert commentary or so much more – all can be done with both traditional PR and digital PR, too, so you’re not going to compromise on creativity or exciting campaigns whichever route you take.
The context of digital PR within SEO means there are some stark differences between digital and traditional that brands can actually benefit hugely from.
Reporting is much more data-based in digital PR than traditional meaning the results are much more tangible than traditional marketing.
While digital PR marketers can still measure via reach estimations and audience/reader figures from brand mentions, the digital placements and links gained from digital PR work can be measured through Google Analytics, Google Search Console and via SERPs analysis.
These allow us to create bespoke strategies that react to the way users and publications are reacting to the brand, and the content in a way that will drive the best results.
We can report on figures such as:
And more!
Digital PR, when used as a tactic of wider SEO, has a longer-term ROI than traditional PR.
Not only do you get the instant gratification and marketing benefits of brand placements in publications that can drive brand awareness but, you also get the longevity of optimisation. These placements and backlinks encourage Google to acknowledge your brand as an authority in the market, allowing you to compete for top positions on Google searches and increase the chances of your brand appearing right under the nose of the right searchers.
So, what are you waiting for? Get in touch with us today to see how you can make the transition from traditional PR to digital PR seamlessly.