Digital PR is online public relations: it helps you keep your brand's web reputation high by curating its communication through targeted and strategic dialogue with network communities.
Some time ago, in this article, I told you about the public relations: a strategic communication process between you your audience, which can grow your business and increase your reach by exposing your brand to more people.
Generally speaking, these are. talking to people, going to events, and meeting people who might prove useful to your success. Yeah, but what about the fact that nowadays all these activities are taking place less and less in the presence and more and more online?
The way we build relationships and get people to connect with us has changed profoundly in recent times-that is why, in the digital age in which we live, you cannot think about doing PR without considering the web marketing.
I'm really referring to what are called Digital PR: a kind of "evolved" form of public relations, which consists of networking with journalists, bloggers and influencers to increase the brand awareness and web reputation through high-quality backlinks, social media mentions, and improved SEO optimization for search engines.
Compared to the "classic" version, the relationships you create online involve much more exposure and interactions that are more visible to everyone-so it is important that you have a consistent, positive, and accurate communication strategy.
But what does Digital PR actually consist of and how can you leverage it to grow your business?
Let's see it together.
What is Digital PR
Le digital public relations are a measurable and tangible strategy to sustain and promote your online presence. It is a tactic widely used these days by various marketers, involving the application of traditional PR principles to the promotion of content, stories, brands and products across the web.
They are based on, precisely, digital strategies: content marketing, social media, SEO, collaborations with influencers.
The goal is to increase exposure of your content, traffic to your website, social following and engagement. It thus grows brand awareness and the perception of your authority As an expert in the field.
So now you might be thinking: but, in practice, they coincide with doing marketing! What's the difference?
True, they are part of marketing, but they differ from it. The difference is very simple: while the purpose of marketing is specifically about increasing sales, digital PR focuses on stimulating a positive impression of your brand and company. They are about building trust in you from online users, as well as a more effective presence on search engines.
A well-planned digital PR strategy can also focus on including your business in online publications: local newspaper Web sites, blogs, reviews of people who have purchased from you, and local events or charities that you sponsor.
Why you should do Digital PR
Digital PR and traditional PR share a common goal, which is to help you improve your reputation and increase your visibility among your target audience. Both are strategies for making a brand more recognizable-the main difference between them is the choice of methods used to achieve that goal.
As I have explained to you many times before, there are elements that are critical to your success that go far beyond just the offer: the brand positioning and the brand awareness, for example, are among them. Improving your brand's online presence and visibility is one of the most effective ways to ensure the growth of your business. Doing public relations online means speaking directly to your audience, creating a dialogue that clarifies your focus and disseminates information that matters to you much faster than ever before. This is to distinguish yourself from your competitors and be highly visible to your target audience as they seek solutions to their needs.
As you may have guessed, there are several advantages. To take away any doubts you may have about the effectiveness of this strategy, I summarize them below.
#MImproves search engine indexing
Curating content on your site or blog and providing good, relevant links improves your search engine rankings. And, as you know, the higher you rank on Google, the more traffic will come to your website - and that will translate into more leads or sales.
#A Increase organic traffic
More exposure leads more people to read your blog, share your content on social media, visit your website.
#Cbuilds brand trust
When done right, digital public relations enhances your brand image and increases trust, thanks to valuable content you share but also to reviews and positive feedback from your audience.
#Tshows you as an authoritative expert
If you know me, you know that my mantra is always the same: the key to a successful online strategy is authority (in this article I tell you about 4 steps to get it). By nurturing your relationships with Web communities, you will enhance your reputation as a credible source of information and position yourself as an expert in your field.
#Generate leads and sales
A good digital PR strategy should put your products in front of a relevant and interested audience. The more people who read about your products and click on your website, the more You will get leads, conversions and sales.
How to create a digital PR strategy
Very well, now that you understand what digital PR is and why you should do it too, it goes without saying that I won't leave you alone: here are a few tips on how to implement an effective online PR strategy to gain visibility, recognition and, ultimately, more leads and sales.
#1 Set your goal
Like any self-respecting strategy, at the center is the goal. What do you want to achieve? Okay more sales, but that's not enough! You need to broaden your gaze and "map out" the various goals that, all together, will then allow you to increase demand for your offering. Just to give you an idea, these might include:
- Increase traffic to the home page, a specific product/service page, a new offer or promotion;
- Expand your mailing list;
- Increasing trust in your brand;
- Improve the ranking of your Web site.
And so on.
#2 Examine your target customers
Who are you trying to reach with your digital PR strategy and the content you create? Outline your target customers and identify any weaknesses or needs that might help make your content relevant to them.
#3 Work on inventiveness
Do research and stimulate collaborations to make it easier for you to come up with ideas to leverage in your content marketing; examine the time and cost required to develop them; create a list of all the best ones; and prioritize them according to what you think is most functional and effective.
#4 Identifies possible publications
Now you need to find someone to be your "promoter," so to speak. Ask yourself the following questions: who will be interested in publishing and sharing this kind of content? Who has the right audience that would include your target customers among their readers and/or followers? Will your idea provide something fresh and exciting that would attract journalists and influencers to want to republish and talk about your story?
If the answer is no, take a step back and adjust your shot 😉
#5 Design Actions
There are different ways that digital PR can be implemented, different types of connections that can be built, and other important strategies that can be used. Here are some of the most common types you can consider:
- Publication of articles to obtain high-quality backlinks;
- Networking with journalists and editors;
- Collaborations with bloggers to get mentions on relevant websites;
- contacts with influencers to gain visibility on social media;
- affiliate programs or referral marketing.
#6 Create your own content
The reason I put content creation only at this point in the process is to make sure that, having established the ideas and defined the actions to be taken, you make sure they are consistent with each other and decide what you want to do with each specific resource at your disposal. Only at this point can you flesh out the details and make it ready to be shared.
#7 Spread, spread, spread
Now is the time to get exposure. You will have to be persistent and keep reaching out to Web site owners, publishers, journalists, bloggers and influencers to get the coverage you want. The right content and an arsenal of good pitches will get you to your goals. Not all digital PR campaigns will be equally successful, but don't let that discourage you. Keep moving toward your goal!
Conclusion
So what do you think?
As you can see, Digital PR is a key component of online marketing for any company that truly wants to dominate its market.
If done properly, one of the most immediate results they can get you are authoritative, quality links-those that actually get clicked on, drive traffic, shares, and engagement to your brand, and increase demand for it. These are obviously links that come from content that is relevant, engaging, useful, resourceful or different.
So be sure to avoid producing a lot of smoke but no fire: remember that your audience is interested in the value you can offer them, even before your product or service. So make sure that your digital public relations strategy is based on quality content that can truly turbocharge your online business.