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What Is Digital PR? Most Common Types of Digital PR
June 26, 2024
4 min read
What is Digital Public Relationship
Digital public relations is a buzzword today. But before implementing it into your marketing strategy, it’s vital to grasp its essence and understand its importance.
Ahrefs defines online PR in a very simple and clear way: “A promotional tactic used by marketing professionals and PR specialists”. At its core, digital PR tends to enhance the awareness of a brand and engage with the target audience.
To get to the point, this marketing approach employs a variety of techniques, including content promotion, storytelling, and more.
Traditional PR vs. Digital PR
Now that we are on the same page about the definition of digital PR, let’s compare it with traditional public relations. This will provide insight into why businesses dedicate their time and effort to investing in online public relations.
As the name implies, traditional public relations is achieved through the utilization of conventional channels such as television, radio, newspapers, and magazines to shape public opinion. Its ultimate objective aligns with that of modern PR—to create a positive image for the brand.
Depending on where your target audience is, you can choose whatever PR approach suits you most. But hardly you can name a successful and famous brand today without a robust online presence. Obviously, they heavily invest in digital PR. Let’s see why.
Compared with traditional, digital PR, it often has a wider reach. Although it employs numerous tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, BuzzSumo, etc. and may be more challenging to establish than its traditional counterpart, the ultimate outcome can indeed be worth the time and investment.
Common Types of Digital PR
There are various strategies and tactics to effectively manage your online presence and engage with your target audience. There are a variety of tools and marketing strategies you may employ, depending on your goals and specific audience.
However, some foolproof winning methods have been in the spotlight for a while. If you are seeking a proven strategy to enhance your business, then we suggest incorporating the following types of digital PR into your marketing strategy.
Unlinked Mentions
As you can guess from the name, unlinked mentions involve mentioning a company or individual’s name without including a link back to the relevant website or other social media pages.
For example, influencers or copywriters can name your brand in their blogs or social media posts, thereby enhancing your brand’s overall reputation and credibility.
Though it can help your business look trustworthy, without a hyperlink, the brand may not directly benefit from an SEO perspective.
Hence, numerous businesses strive to formulate a robust link-building strategy. This approach not only fortifies the credibility of the business but also enhances SEO performance. As a result, businesses can increase traffic to their online platforms and engage more people.
That is why link building tends to be one of the powerful strategies of digital PR. We will cover it more deeply in the upcoming chapter
Guest Posts
Another significant type of online public relations that should not be underestimated is guest posting. It is a contribution of the content to external websites or blogs within a particular industry or niche.
Guest posts play an important role in establishing industry collaboration, developing relationships, and improving the overall online presence of both the contributor and the hosting platform. Simply put, it is a win-win option for all parties.
Experts, for example, can share their expertise with a broader audience while simultaneously gaining exposure and building valuable backlinks to their own websites. Ultimately, it helps drive targeted traffic and contributes positively to search engine optimization efforts by building authoritative backlinks.
Pay-Per-Click Ads
When it comes to powerful types of digital PR we can’t overlook the importance of Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. PPC is a powerful tool of online PR that empowers businesses to elevate their online visibility and reach specific target audiences effectively. Plus, PPCs are quite cost-effective, as you pay when users click through your website.
But to set the right PPC ads, you need to have a deep understanding of the demographics, interests, and online behaviors of your target audience. Thus, you can tailor your messages to a specific group of users.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing stands out as a powerful tool in every skilled marketer’s toolkit. Gaining mentions on influential social media user accounts can be highly beneficial for your brand. That is because influencers have the power to create and affect public opinion. So, when influencers express positive sentiments about your brand in their posts, it undoubtedly enhances your brand’s reputation.
Brands may tap into established networks, create trust, and reach a more focused market through working with influencers. This form of engagement frequently includes paid content, product placements, or reviews, which allow influencers to share their authentic experiences with their audience.
Directory Inclusions
It’s the process of adding your business website to a directory of similar ones. It functions similarly to a phone book. The primary objective of directory inclusions is to ensure that anyone looking for particular products, services, or information in a given area may quickly find a brand.
Hence, you need to submit accurate and consistent information about your business, including its name, address, contact details, and a brief description, to online directories. It will not only make it simpler for potential customers to find a business but will additionally assist with SEO efforts.
Press Releases
Our list of the types of digital PR will be incomplete without press releases. It is one of the powerful types of public relations, which are also common in traditional PR. But, let’s admit that with online PR tools, it is easier to share information with journalists and influencers. On top of that, this approach is faster.
Social media press releases, unlike pitch emails, are published on the internet within a virtual newsroom. Consequently, journalists and influencers can simply find and share your advertising content on social networking platforms.
🎨 The Art of Link Building in Digital PR
We have already talked a bit about the importance of link-building in modern public relations. Now let’s explore why strategic link building is considered to be a key component of digital PR.
You may not consider that digital PR and SEO make a powerful combination, but modern public relations can contribute significant value to your website, thanks to the synergy achieved through effective link building. Simply put, digital PR aims to use valuable content to get links that boost a website’s visibility and SEO.
According to the Semrush study, 92.3% of the 100 top-ranking domains had at least one backlink. This statistic truly shows the pivotal role of link-building in the realm of online PR.
It’s also important to remember that link building is not just about quantity but quality as well. If you want to enhance your website’s credibility, then you need to get links from authoritative and relevant sources. To succeed, you should build genuine relationships with influencers, journalists, and other key figures in your niche.
Moreover, link building is beneficial for content creation too. Producing high-quality, shareable content increases your chances of earning organic links. That is the main reason why link building is worth investing in.
Final Notes
Digital PR is a paramount strategy for establishing your brand and its representatives as authorities within your industry. Now you have a deep understanding of the essence of modern PR. We also skimmed through the most effective types of digital PR to employ. So, now you can utilize this marketing tool more efficiently.
Ultimately, to make the most of modern public relations, combine online PR with SEO to enhance your link-building endeavors. It will noticeably elevate the online visibility and credibility of your business.
