Digital PR and traditional PR have the same goals and objectives; they both are about increasing brand awareness and building a brand’s reputation. 

The difference between digital PR and traditional PR is in the inputs and tactics. 

A digital PR campaign will use all the opportunities and channels that digital offers, from simple social media strategies and tactics to more technical and complex strategies like SEO and technical SEO strategy. 

Consistency is key  

A key part of digital PR is to have consistent messaging across all platforms to have coherent communication and brand recognition. Digital PR allows brands to reach more people and build more authentic relationships with an audience.  

As long as you approach with authenticity and develop strategies that engage and enable the consumer to access your brand online. 

So brands can build credibility, brand awareness, relationships and trust. Digital PR is no longer a nice to have for brands. It’s a must-have to raise awareness and grow. 

Digital PR Benefits 

Digital PR is powerful. 

It can help you reach your audience, increase brand awareness and boost your reputation and visibility in the digital age. Digital PR is built to improve your brand’s presence in the digital age and this is how:  

More website traffic 

By increasing your website traffic you’re widening your scope, growing your audience and generally increasing your brand awareness. More traffic means more digital footfall which can bring in new customers and brand awareness. 

More traffic means more digital footfall and more footfall and web traffic means more chance of conversion. 

More engagement on social media 

Real-time messaging, direct interaction with audiences and plenty of opportunities to build credibility and monitor social media channels and brand mentions helps to make your PR stronger. An engaged social media presence and positive following is a great trust signal to new prospects. 

More leads more sales 

Digital PR isn’t about selling your products but it can create the environment to nudge customers to buy. PR can increase brand awareness and build brand trust which is key to increased customer loyalty and sales. Trust is the key to sales.  

Better brand image 

A good reputation and online presence is good for you. People like to engage with businesses and brands. They don’t like faceless organisations that don’t care about their audience or user groups. 

Digital PR Strategy & Tactics in Action 

So we’ve looked at the outcomes of digital PR strategies. But what does it look like, in terms of tactics and deployment 

Social Media 

You need an active social media presence to maintain and grow your brand reputation. It’s part of building your online identity and part of your digital PR strategy. 

While also being a major part of your digital PR strategy, social media is a major part of your overall customer service arm. 

It’s your shop window. But it’s also more than that. 

This is a place where potential customers can be influenced by your existing audiences. So positive, honest and authentic engagement is a must.  

Content Creation 

What does content creation mean to you? White papers? Blogs? News stories? writing press releases? Producing video content? Tweets (or should we say X’s) Instagram posts, even TikTok content? 

To us, it means all of the above. 

Content helps to build emotional connections with your audience. Great content engages, entertains and ultimately converts prospects into loyal customers. Building campaigns around great content, leveraged across multiple channels and formats is  the most effective way to engage with your tribe 

Link building strategies 

Digital PR and link building go hand in hand. But this is a long-term game.  

These strategies also help to differentiate your brand from other businesses in the industry. 

These strategies increase overall visibility of your website through the placement of backlinked content on third-party sites with relevant links. This could be a simple press release, a news story on relevant websites and online media, or thought leadership in key sector titles. 

It’s a traditional PR approach, engaging with media through press releases and putting a digital PR spin on it. 

But the content and placement have to be relevant. Credible, high-quality backlinks – meaning backlinks to relevant and trustworthy – quality links will build brand credibility and authority. 

Content and Channel Optimisation 

Effective brand communications means all channels and assets are optimised for maximum visibility. 

Everything needs to be connected for maximum online visibility. Whether it’s your Google My Business Profile, or making sure your social tags and handles are on your site, your social media presence is also optimised to boost organic rankings and increase your presence in the SERP. 

You can’t build on your search ranking score if your owned channels aren’t optimised. To get more awareness and reach online PR requires a holistic approach, everything needs to be in sync. 

Showing up to Google 

This could get lengthy so we’ll try to keep it brief. 

Google monitors and ranks online publications, websites, pages and content against its own set of rules. These are the E-E-A-T guidelines, they are a set of indicators that determine whether any given piece of on-page content is experienced, expert, authoritative and trustworthy – hence E-E-A-T. Consistent messaging across all content is key to meeting Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines. 

E-E-A-T — or Double-E-A-T became part of Google’s search rater guidelines in 2022. 

The main challenge with Google is it likes to move the Goalposts.  

Core updates and other changes to the practice and protocol can make it hard to keep up with the latest best practices and requirements around search engines and content. 

You can spend all the time in the world developing a digital PR strategy and digital marketing strategy. But if you’re creating content that Google won’t or doesn’t like, all that work will be for nothing. The further down the SERP you go, the more your website, organic traffic and brand visibility suffer. 

This is where it pays to have an expert in your corner. 

Conclusion 

Ultimately, digital PR is a key part of any PR strategy.  

Digital PR can lead to customer loyalty by building trust and credibility. 

It may seem like a big ask to keep up with the ever-changing search engine algorithms and best practices. But the rewards of well-executed digital PR campaigns and strategies are worth it. 

Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines say to create content that is Experienced, Expert, Authoritative and Trustworthy.  

Build brand credibility, build relationships and build trust with your audience. By producing high-quality, relevant content and earning links from other reputable sources you’ll increase your website visibility, authority and overall search engine rankings. 

But digital PR needs a long-term approach. It is not a quick win.  

It requires a strategic and sustained effort. Which in turn requires patience and an ongoing commitment to the overall process on online brand building.  

About AMBITIOUS

AMBITIOUS by name and by nature, we are a PR led communications agency that delivers integrated strategic communications - online, offline and everywhere in-between. Proud to be crowned winners of The Drum Magazine's RAR Best PR Agency of the Year.