Digital PR is the strategic use of digital technologies to enhance and manage the online image or reputation of a company or brand, increasing both digital reach and visibility. While traditional PR is all about getting a brand or message into key print publications that a target audience will read, Digital PR drives traffic to a company’s digital assets while also building brand awareness on a number of online platforms. Digital PR specialists may use a combination of strategies to optimise and promote a company’s digital presence, such as social media, SEO, backlinking, online publications and content marketing.

A comprehensive Digital PR strategy will include:

Search engine optimisation (SEO)

SEO is an important part of any Digital PR strategy. Optimising digital content for SEO helps increase a company’s visibility and ranking on popular search engines such as Google. Consequently, the company reaches a wider audience and drives high-volume traffic to its website. A Digital PR specialist may first conduct an SEO audit and backlink analysis to assess the ranking and strength of a company’s digital assets, before making recommendations for uplift and improvement.

Content marketing

Online content marketing supports a Digital PR strategy through the creation and exposure of quality online content, such as blogs, articles, advertorials and videos. Such content may not explicitly promote a brand or product but rather seek to pique interest, create conversation and raise awareness.

Social media and influencer marketing

A Digital PR specialist may also use popular social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and Facebook to generate buzz and conversation around a brand, event or product. Influencer marketing can also be used to gain high-visibility endorsements and product mentions from influencers with a dedicated social following.

Networking

Just like traditional PR, Digital PR specialists may also seek to make connections with online journalists, bloggers and content writers in order to get mentions, reviews and high-quality article placements.

Backlinks

A backlink is created when a website links to a page on another website. Backlinks are an important part of Digital PR and are an excellent metric with which to measure the success of a PR strategy too. High-quality and authoritative backlinks will generate more traffic to a website. These backlinks should be relevant and strategically placed so as to ensure traffic is coming from a brand’s target audience too — which in turn will help to drive conversions. A strong backlink strategy will also boost a website’s search engine rankings, strengthening the authority of its content so that it ranks more competitively in search result listings — which again helps to generate more traffic.

Digital PR and traditional PR are similar in their objective — to build a positive brand image tailored towards a specific target audience. However, the strategies that each type of PR employs are very different. Traditional PR seeks to get clients exposure in newspapers, TV, radio, magazines and other publications in print and online. Digital PR, on the other hand, recognises that the way people consume content is changing. It uses online strategies to target digital audiences through high-traffic web articles, search engine optimisation, and attracting high-quality backlinks to contribute to great SEO.

As part of a successful Digital PR strategy, a Digital PR specialist will work to:

• Create and pitch compelling digital campaigns
• Build relationships with bloggers, influencers and digital journalists
• Optimise your on-page content for SEO in order to boost traffic
• Earn high-authority backlinks by pitching compelling brand content
• Publish quality content on authority sites to build brand expertise, authority and trust

Both traditional PR and Digital PR can help a brand achieve awareness and visibility. However, Digital PR brings with it some specific benefits:

• Digital PR increases a brand’s reach and introduces the company to new target audiences that traditional PR may not be able to influence. Plus, in the digital sphere, communication is no longer limited by geography or time. Consequently, online strategies not only allow a brand to reach a much broader audience than traditional, offline-only PR — they can create conversation at any time of the day too.
• By driving website traffic and building brand confidence, Digital PR can generate commercial leads and increase sales.
• Digital PR requires much shorter lead times than traditional PR, which often has to take pre-planned editorial calendars and rigid print deadlines into account.
• With SEO, backlinking, follows, mentions, reviews, likes, commenting and other metrics available for tracking engagement and success, Digital PR is often much more measurable, focused and strategic in its efforts than traditional PR.
• Because Digital PR campaigns seek placement on websites — rather than solely in traditional publications — there’s often more creativity to step outside traditional editorial and print guidelines. A hero editorial piece, for example, can often be accompanied by a number of other content assets and techniques, such as a TikTok video or tweet.

Digital PR agencies aim to boost the online awareness, visibility and reputation of a company or brand through search engine optimisation, unlinked mentions (i.e. mentions of a brand or company that do not provide a backlink), press releases, guest posts, high-traffic placement of online articles and blogs, social media/influencer marketing, content marketing and attracting reputable backlinks.

Print-based publications — while still relevant — are being rapidly overtaken by online media, with many outlets now choosing to embrace a digital-first future. And with these online publications becoming increasingly influential, a savvy digital PR strategy can greatly boost a brand’s presence and visibility. 

Digital PR invites conversation and dialogue in a rapidly growing space. Plus, the nature of online consumption means that Digital PR can effectively help brands speak directly to their target audience 24 hours a day. And if a company has a particular message to get out, Digital PR can help spread news and information more quickly and effectively than ever before — and to a much broader audience too.