Why PR And Digital Marketing Work Hand In Hand

Back in the day, public relations could do well without the digital world. Traditionally, most of the brand and company coverage we needed was in print (newspapers, trade magazines) and broadcasted over the radio and television. While the previous means of communication aren’t obsolete, they’re now facing a giant competitor: the internet. It’s safe to say that brands that aren’t online will likely not be found anywhere else.

Why is that?

The digital world grew beyond all of us could have imagined. Brands and public figures can no longer get by without a reasonable online presence, and must strive to reach their target audience with relevant content that fully resonates. Otherwise, they’re out of the game.

That’s why many companies are (or at least should be) bringing their public relations (PR) and digital marketing departments together. Nowadays, one can’t function without the other.

Here are just a few perks digital marketing has added to PR efforts.

Tracking Analytics For Better Performance

Search engine optimization (SEO) tools are jam-packed with competitive intelligence to boost any website’s rankings and revenue, if used correctly. In my opinion, one of the most exciting features found in these tools is comprehensive analytics.

Analytics help users skip the guesswork and know exactly how their campaigns are performing: how many people they’ve reached, how many clicks they got, where viewers come from and more. For PR, these metrics are golden.

In case a brand’s campaign doesn’t perform as expected, they can be easily adjusted, relaunched and tested for extra precision. This strategy helps campaigns reach their perfect target audience with clickable and irresistible offers.

Storytelling-Based Content Creation

Despite the undeniable power of exact numbers, content is still king. Without an experienced content strategist by your side, your PR efforts won’t see results. After all, the lack of great content often means a lack of trust or authority.

Content creation is a vital aspect of digital marketing. It skillfully blends the technical side of SEO with the creative side of writing. The result is readable, inspiring and persuasive content that slides the reader through, until they reach conversion. Overlook it, and your readers are in for bland, run-of-the-mill content that may or may not convert. Why nurture this doubt?

Plus, if a content strategist encourages storytelling, you’re in luck. PR campaigns are all about connecting with readers and viewers — and storytelling is a proven method for creating engaging and relatable content for your audience.

Driving Qualified Traffic To Websites Through Powerful Links

One great quality link can do wonders for a brand’s reputation. Now, imagine what several links could do.

Receiving backlinks from authoritative sites is a hard-earned privilege. Sites like Entrepreneur and Forbes wouldn’t bother to link to a website unless it brought valuable content to their repertoire. By valuable content, I mean content that’s similar in quality to their own.

If you want your PR campaigns to reach (and wow) high-authority sites, you must create and promote your content accordingly. A digital marketing team can help a brand stay consistent across all platforms — social media pages, websites, newsletters — while ensuring quality content.

Leveraging The Power Of Social Media

When your brand is mentioned in an article, you should use social media to expand the reach and coverage. While the media gets your brand out there to the public, social media can help you build a community around it.

While media coverage helps you to build credibility, social media helps you to build reputation and customer engagement. You can also leverage the power of paid social ads to get your article in front of the right audience.

Frame your brand image to the public via PR, and push that image down to the funnel via your Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn posts. You are creating the noise and driving the attention in ways that benefit your company.

The Takeaway

If your PR and digital marketing offices are still far apart, you’re leaving money (and opportunities) on the table. Assess your current campaigns. Are they driving traffic? Are they attracting links from authoritative sites? If your brand remains on the same spot, you should rethink your strategies. Welcoming digital marketing expertise means reaching your target audience in an impactful way.