Digital PR is all about using PR tactics to earn backlinks to support your SEO strategy. In other words, digital PR is simply creating content that tells stories that are so good that journalists actually want to cover and link to them.
Different tactics exist, and success comes from knowing which and when to use. However, few tactics can help you earn links at scale, but digital PR can help you earn relevant links. Also, there are a whole host of other benefits to your business such that If you're not using digital PR as part of your link building strategy, you're missing out on a huge opportunity to gain a competitive advantage.
Below are a few digital PR tactics to use. They may not be suitable for every business, so you need to understand which is appropriate for the industry you are in.
Creative Campaigns; Creative campaigns are an effective way to come up with something that journalists want to cover.
Think visualizations, predictive imagery, or creative stunts that get people talking. While this often gets labelled as 'do something cool,' it really comes down to having a great idea that stands out from the crowd.
Newsjacking; Newsjacking is all about monitoring the news and reacting to breaking stories with expert insights, comments, and advice.
It's an effective tactic and one that doesn't require complex content assets. With newsjacking, your linkable asset is usually an expert within your business.
However, you need to be quick. You can't sit around and send posts 24 hours later. The quicker you're able to land a great post, the better your chances of success.
In addition, the comments need to add value to the topic, not simply trot out what has happened.
Expert-Insights PR and Quotes; Your people, their knowledge, and expertise can be an effective way to earn great linked coverage even when not hooked to a breaking news topic.
Sit down with product or service specialists within your business and talk to them about what your audience needs to know, what commonly asked questions could be asked, or hot topics to be aware of. Then, turn these into expert-insight pitches.
Create a piece of blog content to go alongside this, where possible, to improve the percentage of pieces of coverage that link, rather than give a brand mention.
Product PR; Product PR often feels like it belongs very much in the hands of traditional PR.
But the truth is that the lines are starting to blur, and your products (or, more specifically, deals or the stories around your products) can help you earn links.
Product links often drive noticeable sums of revenue due to the nature of the tactic. At the end of the day, if someone is talking about your products in an article and these links get clicked, it makes sense that some of these users will then go on to buy.
Just don't forget the need to find a story.
Products on their own are rarely stories, but great savings during your latest sale can be stories. As can how your products can help to solve a common problem that your audience has.
Go above and beyond pitching out your products on their own. Take the time to think about what would make a journalist write about your product, and more specifically, why someone would want to read about them.
Put yourself in the reader's shoes and look for interesting ways to hook your products to the challenges that they face.
There you have it. Did we leave anyone out? Which of these tactics have you used? Let us know in the comments.
Originally culled from SemRush
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