Digital PR: A marketing strategy for businesses

We explain what Digital PR is and how to improve your website and brand with a Digital PR strategy.

Digital PR (public relations) isn't just another buzzword – it's a dynamic strategy that can transform your online presence and potentially reach millions of people. But what is digital PR, and why is it important?

At its heart, digital PR is about telling compelling stories, building meaningful relationships, and boosting brand recognition online. In a busy, noisy digital world, a digital PR strategy can change your marketing game. Not sure what PR is? Check out this article.

What is digital PR?

It may sound like something only big corporations can afford, but it's a strategy that can work wonders for smaller businesses too. It's all about using traditional PR techniques, like press releases, powered by the internet and tech to boost your organisation’s presence, reputation, and relationships with your audience.

Its versatile approach supports marketing initiatives, such as:

Amplifying SEO content
When your content features in high-quality publications, you can earn backlinks to your website, which can help improve your search engine rankings.

Social media marketing
When people share content and talk about you and your brand on social media like Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, it creates a life of its own, driving organic traffic to your website.

Influencer marketing
Though a little outside the traditional PR box, partnering with popular social media influencers that align with your brand and budget lets you connect with a ready-made, dedicated following that matches your target audience – building trust, credibility and sales. Remember, there are nano- and micro-influencers as well, that may have a small—or no—fee.

Events
Using social media or online media to promote your events or webinars can spread the message far and wide, generating a buzz that brings your target audience through the digital (or physical) door.

Content marketing
Digital PR is ideal for showcasing your content marketing. Email or social media campaigns, and eye-catching visuals like infographics or videos can expand your reach and encourage people to click on your call to action.

How do I create a digital PR strategy?

To ensure you get the best results:

Define your goals.
What do you want your digital PR campaign to achieve? Do you want to increase brand awareness, generate leads, or boost your search engine rankings? Without clear goals, you can’t measure success.

Identify your target audience.
Who are you trying to reach? What are their interests and needs? And why should they come to you? Now’s the time to shout about why your business is exactly what people need.

Research the media landscape.
What are the top online media outlets in your industry? Who are the key journalists, influencers and thought leaders? Who champions the same areas as you? And whose audience matches yours? And don’t think of it as a one-off. Building strong relationships with media people is great for getting your name out there.

Create a content plan.
What types of content will you create for your digital PR campaign? Think about informative blog posts, eye-catching videos, infographics, compelling articles, and newsworthy press releases. Make sure it’s high quality and speaks to your target audience.

Track your results
What’s caught your audience’s imagination, what are they talking about – and what’s falling flat? Use data analytics tools to track key metrics like website traffic, number of referring domains, media mentions, and backlink growth. Tweak your approach where you need to.

Why is digital PR important for business?

When your digital PR campaigns. get featured in reputable online sources, it’s like shining a spotlight on your business. But while visibility’s great, backlinks are even better. Backlinks are digital endorsements from authoritative and respected websites pointing back to your content. Search engines like Google see backlinks as a vote of confidence in your content's quality and relevance, bumping you up the rankings and making it easier for people to find you.

The result? Increased organic traffic and more clicks and visits to your website. Best of all, this approach carries on boosting your SEO over time, giving lasting value and all-important competitive edge.

In the bustling online landscape, securing a prime spot in search results is like striking digital gold. As a powerful marketing strategy, digital PR can put your business in the spotlight, and help you achieve your marketing goals.

Need more advice on how to make digital PR part of your business? Our V-Hub Digital Advisers are here to help.