These days, it seems as if a company’s future can be determined solely by its online presence. If a brand has a negative online image, the likelihood of success is slim to none. The same goes for a company that has no online reputation whatsoever.
Any business owners out there hoping to make the most of their online presence can do so with one simple task: start researching digital PR firms and choose the one that suits your needs and aligns with your goals. Before you can even begin to think about choosing the right one, though, you need to do your research on digital PR and how it can help your business thrive and prosper. Start right here with these 4 FAQs on digital public relations.
Question #1: What is digital PR and how is it different from traditional PR?
MediaVisionInteractive says that “Digital PR is a tactic used by brands to increase their online presence through building relationships with key content writers and online journalists to gain ‘press hits’, or citations, and high quality backlinks….”
“…Digital PR, when done properly, increases a brand’s reach and visibility and in turn has a positive effect on search engine visibility through effective onsite SEO, driving increased referral traffic…”
There are quite a few differences between digital PR and more traditional forms of PR. Traditional PR focuses on media outlets that were more common in the past – like newspapers, radio, billboards, etc. Digital PR, on the other hand, focuses more on the media outlets that are relevant today, like social media platforms, blogs, and official online journals.
Question #2: How does digital PR fit into a company’s marketing strategy?
All of your digital marketing efforts should be interlinked with each other. Your social media marketing needs to work alongside your SEO strategy, and digital PR should fit into the mix as well. For example, when digital PR is paired with search engine optimization, you can fully take advantage of keyword optimization. Digital PR pros know about the key search terms that are currently trending around the world, which will help to optimize your site to its fullest potential.
Question #3: What is a “good” PR hit vs a “bad” one?
Public relations professionals often talk about a brand’s “hits”. A hit basically just means that the brand is trending within one source or another. A good hit would be when the brand is trending on a high-traffic site, also referred to as a site with high authority. The higher the traffic, the more people the hit will reach. A good hit also refers to positive publicity rather than something negative.
Question #4: How is digital PR success measured?
Knowing whether a digital PR firm has been successful in its job is fairly easy. You can measure a PR hit through Google Analytics to see how much traffic the hit is receiving. Generally speaking though, a digital PR firm has been successful if your company name is being talked about more than before you invested in the firm’s services.