If you own a client-facing business, digital PR agencies are one of the greatest allies you can have. With their ability to leverage several different marketing strategies like content creation, social media, influencer marketing, and more, they ensure your brand gets the coverage it needs.
By aligning yourself with an agency specializing in digital PR, you can reap the benefits of building quality backlinks, driving traffic to your website, and creating buzz around your brand.
So, I guess the question now is: how do you select the best digital PR agencies for your business? That is what I will be showing you in this guide. And, as a bonus, I’ll throw in strategies that you can use to get the process started from your own end before you introduce a professional.
All growth begins from the inside, after all.
Key Takeaways
- Digital Public Relations (PR) is a strategy used to increase awareness and visibility of your brand using online channels.
- The goal of a Digital PR campaign is to increase online mentions, backlinks, and the brand of a company.
- Common types of Digital PR include unlinked mentions, guest posts, directory inclusions, press releases and influencer marketing.
- As online PR is an intersection of traditional PR, several customary goals have followed the evolution of public relations.
- The best digital PR agencies combine the best of traditional PR with a focus on trends in content marketing, SEO, and social media marketing.
What Is Digital PR?
Digital Public Relations (PR) is a strategy used to increase awareness and visibility of your brand using online channels. It is similar to traditional PR but it offers the opportunity to reach more people in a measurable and targeted way.
The goal of a Digital PR campaign is to increase online mentions, backlinks, and the brand of a company, all of which are even more critical to a brand’s success now compared to previous years. To make the most impact, digital PR relies on digital marketing strategies such as search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing, influencer marketing, and social media.
Digital PR is a powerful strategy that allows companies to speak directly to their target audience at any time and anywhere.
What Does Digital PR Involve?
With billions of people active online, businesses need to use digital channels for PR activities.
The best digital PR agencies combine the best of traditional PR with a focus on trends in content marketing, SEO, and social media marketing. A digital PR specialist uses a variety of tactics to improve the presence of a company or client such as:
- Creating and sending out press releases
- Building relationships with online journalists and bloggers
- Organizing online reviews and interviews
- Ensuring press releases are optimized with relevant links to your website.
- Using influencer marketing and blogger outreach to develop partnerships or get mentions on influential social media accounts and blogs
- Publishing online content to gain a wider reputation and high-quality backlinks
Types of Digital PR
There are many different techniques a digital marketing PR agency may use to drive results. In SEO terminology, these techniques are often categorized as “white hat” vs “black hat” vs “gray hat.”
Here are common types of Digital PR:
- Unlinked Mentions. Mentions of your company name that do not provide a link back to your website.
- Guest Posts. Writing and publishing an article on someone else’s website.
- Directory Inclusions. Adding your company website to a directory that lists other similar companies.
- Press Releases. Sharing newsworthy announcements to secure press features.
- Influencer Marketing. Gaining mentions on influential social media user accounts.
Digital PR & Marketing
In a world where almost everything happens online, some predict that print media will disappear almost entirely in the next decade. This means you will have to put all your efforts into digital PR. PR experts are adept at maximizing digital PR and marketing.
Here are some of the ways:
Digital PR and SEO
Digital public relations is concerned with reputation building and getting coverage via third-party endorsers. Where PR focuses on partnerships, press releases, and guest blogging,
Public relations serves the purpose of creating value through the information that’s being shared. SEO aims to optimize that information – including keywords and phrases you need to rank for, for the benefit of Google. If someone has seen your company name before, the likelihood of them clicking your link is much higher when they see it in the SERPs.
Success in digital PR is measured by the quantity and quality of online coverage, brand mentions, engagement, and impact on sales. SEO success is measured by SERPs, organic traffic volume, click-through rate, and time spent on the site.
Digital PR and branding
Digital PR and branding are closely linked, and both are critical in promoting and shaping a brand’s identity online. Strategies, such as online content creation, social media campaigns, and influencer collaborations, are used in branding.
A well-thought-out digital strategy ensures consistent messaging and visibility across all platforms, enhancing the brand’s credibility and reach and helping it get its story out there.
Digital PR and social media
Digital PR and Social Media are closely interrelated. Each works to complement and enhance the other. Digital aims to maintain and build a reputation online through content marketing, thought leadership, backlinks, and media pitches. Social media allows this content to be shared and engaged with.
Social media can help maintain a positive social reputation and interaction value, providing a way to communicate in real-time. Digital PR can also engage via press releases and thought leadership articles.
Goals of Digital PR
The first thing you should know is that any successful PR campaign or total strategy is measurable. But, how do you know if you’re working towards measurable results? You set milestones, KPIs, and end goals and ensure you have a unit of measurement for each.
For example, a measurement could be increased domain authority or social shares from the PR campaign.
As online PR is an intersection of traditional PR, some customary goals have followed the evolution of public relations.
Increase brand awareness
Let’s say you’re a startup and new to the technology scene – you must create a name for yourself and differentiate yourself from competitors. A noteworthy online presence is one step toward becoming well-known among your target audience.
For more established corporations, it’s important to maintain brand awareness – so that competitors don’t take over your position in the market.
Media pitching and journalist relations
Communications are now highly digitalized. A letter to the editor is now most likely a well-crafted email. Pitching to journalists is more of a working goal that builds towards the overall goals you want to achieve. However, pitching should not be overlooked in terms of value.
Quality relationships should be nurtured by maintaining contact with journalists and media outlets that offer a mutually beneficial partnership – something that comes in handy when you need an online platform for publicity.
Customer acquisition and leads
The great thing about digital content is that it is highly customizable and can be tailored to the profile of who you’re reaching out to. After all, who doesn’t appreciate a personalized email?
Online networking with journalists and bloggers is one way the digital space enables us to win more leads since digital PR can reach an extensive online audience.
Getting coverage
Getting third-party endorsements and earned coverage has always been a goal of PR. This carried over into the online world by, for example, aiming to achieve a certain number of earned impressions online.
SEE: Media Coverage: Your Blueprint to Captivating Audiences and Making Headlines
Earning coverage shows that others believe in and support your brand – backing your reputation. Remember, a paid-for Google Ad is the work of marketing and advertising; an earned feature in an online news publication is the result of digital PR.
Boost SEO scores
A good online reputation can get you some strong backlinks. If you stay consistent in your PR performance, it can easily result in obtaining some links from authoritative sites in your industry – Google loves this. When digital PR and SEO work together, your overall communication goals will be within reach. You must pay attention to your backlinks’ quality- always ensure they are valuable for your business.
Depending on the expectations of your digital PR campaign, the goals you set will either look similar to the above-mentioned or a little different. Overall, no matter the goal, the aim is to grow the business (depending on what that may look like to you) through the power of PR.
Digital PR Strategies
A Digital PR strategy encompasses the most important tactics that have the potential to drive defined business goals. Sometimes, it also includes backlink analysis and an SEO audit.
Attached below is a checklist of steps you can use to create strategies in your PR efforts to drive your business forward:
Creating a digital PR strategy
Top Digital PR Agencies To Boost Your Business
#1. LampHills
Founded on the principles of transparency, creativity, and strategic insight, LampHills is your go-to if you’re seeking to enhance your public image and media relations. Armed with a team of seasoned experts, they are committed to guiding you through every step of your PR journey, ensuring that your message not only reaches but also positively impacts your target audience.
LampHills reshapes reputations and builds lasting legacies. And with a blend of strategic expertise and creativity, they create compelling narratives that elevate your brand and leave a lasting impact. This PR agency prides itself on its unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional results while ensuring a collaborative environment that allows ideas to flourish and your reputation and legacy to thrive.
#2. Power Digital Marketing
Power Digital Marketing is a team of marketers, creatives, technologists, and analytics that come together to drive revenue and brand recognition for their brands. Their omnichannel support includes services like SEO, social media, content marketing, CRO, and digital PR.
The digital PR services at Power Digital Marketing consist of fully customized media relations that help build lasting credibility and brand awareness through customer strategies for new media platforms and influencer campaigns. Their strategy is centered on smart storytelling and analytics that dives results to present a cross-platform approach to media relations.
Additionally, their PR experts pair their campaigns with high-level reporting.
#3. Green Flag Digital
Green Flag Digital provides data-driven strategies to help its clients achieve their needed coverage. The digital PR specialists help strategize, identify, and execute strategies to help boost revenue and marketing goals. Green Flag Digital ensures that its team creates mutually beneficial and evergreen content that serves both the brands and the publishers.
This team follows a 15-step process that starts with industry research, followed by topics selection, keyword matching, content creation, design, market research, promotion, and follow-up. Green Flag Digital specializes in infographics, maps, surveys, data studies, and long-form blog posts.
#4. SearchEye
SearchEye is dedicated to being a frontrunner in transforming the future of digital PR with clear and actionable strategies and insights. They offer separate services for brands and publishers, and by enabling enhanced collaboration between the two, SearchEye builds up brands and helps improve SEO on sites.
For brands that want a PR boost, SearchEye can elevate your efforts by combining numerous services, including media placements, earned links, guest posts, and more. And best of all, their competitive pricing scheme means there are no commitments or contracts. Instead, you only pay for the links you successfully receive.
#5. Siege Media
With over 10 years of experience, Siege Media is another top-of-the-line agency when it comes to creating content that will rank and drive organic traffic. Their skilled team of marketers executes all types of content that drive high-quality traffic, including everything from blogs and interactives to videos and eBooks.
Siege’s PR team specializes in premium SEO-focused content marketing, graphic design, and promotion through digital PR efforts. With search volume always in mind, they focus on building sustainable outcomes by creating high-quality, brand-building assets that consistently generate quality organic links over time.
#6. Prosperity Media
Prosperity Media’s digital PR services focus on earning high-quality backlinks from authoritative and relevant online media publications to increase your brand’s authority, awareness, and organic rankings. The team uses a variety of tactics, such as reactive, proactive, and campaign-led digital PR, to achieve these results.
With experience working with global clients such as PepsiCo, Binance, HomeAway, and many more, Prosperity Media serves the mid-to-enterprise market. Semrush awarded Prosperity Media the ‘best SEO agency’ title, making it a market leader in the global market.
#7. uSERP
uSERP is a team of specialists that helps scale organic growth with performance-driven SEO and authority backlinks. Their content and link strategy helps produce high-quality assets that earn media attention and improve rankings, traffic, and conversions.
uSERP ‘s digital PR services help scale industry authority by improving thought leadership, brand authority, organic rankings, and E-A-T signals. In addition to their campaigns, uSERP offers KPI reports, and strategy calls with the experts to help check in and ensure their clients are on track to meet their goals.
#8. Go Fish Digital
As a 4 x “Agency of the Year” award winner for the US Search Awards, Go Fish Digital has an impressive resume. They’ve worked with some of the top brands like AirBnb, The New York Times, and Marriott, to drive success across numerous aspects of their business growth.
With services that range from web design and development to copywriting, branding, digital PR, and more, their clients have experienced substantial increases in traffic, revenue, and clicks. Go Fish Digital’s approach to digital PR is all about creating engaging and unique linkable content that has earned extensive digital PR coverage.
Their team has over 15 years of experience creating content that actually drives results.
#9. NP Digital
As a full-scale digital marketing agency, NP Digital offers various digital marketing services, like content marketing, email marketing, and digital PR. Their unique range of services is poised to unlock growth and expansion for businesses, and because their strategies are “algorithm-proof,” they align with Google’s best practices for optimal results.
Co-founded by Neil Patel in 2017, NP Digital reflects the innovation and passion for digital marketing expressed by Neil, as one of the world’s most reputable digital marketers. And because NP Digital has employees around the globe, they take the time to create the perfect team for every client, based on proximity and relevant PR experience.
#10. Builtvisible
Storytelling with data insights combined with the human touch of their specialist team makes up Builtvisible’s digital PR services. Their team aims to unify creativity and data, align stakeholders, and create a strong path to brand coverage for their clients.
Builtvisible’s digital PR services include end-to-end campaigns and consulting on every project. They also provide SEO link-building, outreach, and promotion services to help brands achieve consistent and high-impact exposure.
#11. Dofollow.com
Unlike some digital PR agencies, Dofollow.com is not afraid to leverage AI to lead the future of link building. With the rise in AI use amongst most of your audience, it’s now more important than ever to build links optimized for AI-powered search. This focus on context, relevancy, and solving user needs allows Dofollow.com’s clients to consistently outperform competitors.
Sometimes, it’s all about focusing on your business and letting the experts take care of the rest, and the team at Dofollow.com understands this. They offer incredible full-service premium link building with a dedicated account manager, industry experts that can be connected with at any time, transparent reporting, and more.
Whatever website or business type you have, you can be confident that Dofollow.com will create only the most powerful backlinks for your needs.
#12. Omniscient Digital
If you’re a B2B company looking for digital PR services while simultaneously turning content into a growth channel, Omniscient Digital may be a great option. With a focus on company growth and not just increased traffic, Omniscient Digital has worked with many B2B businesses — especially in the software field — like Adobe and Hotjar, to ensure their marketing strategies work.
Their digital PR service includes link building, which drives ranking to content. So if you’re looking for a wider range of PR services it’s best to look elsewhere. But if you already have a lot of digital content that needs to be repurposed or utilized, give Omniscient Digital a go.
Importance of Digital PR
Digital PR is important because it introduces a company to new target audiences. These introductions take place on search engine results pages and within editorial article placements on popular sites.
Digital PR is also effective in boosting a company’s website traffic. In many cases, digital press releases are picked up by media outlets and become the source of new inbound links to a company’s website. These links help improve the site’s search engine optimization, making it easier for potential customers to find the company online.
Here is how Digital PR benefits a small business:
- Improves SEO rankings. Google was founded as a hypertextual search engine. Backlinks are a key component of how websites appear in search engine results pages. Generally speaking, the more relevant the links, the better the website will rank. Digital PR helps secure backlinks at scale.
- Grows website traffic. The premise of public relations is to secure editorial coverage of a company. This editorial coverage increases referrals and helps grow website traffic.
- Builds brand. A reputable third-party platform can help introduce a company to a new audience. A digital public relations strategy builds a business’s brand by increasing the online mentions of an organization.
- Generates leads. When website traffic increases, new leads tend to increase as well. Digital PR increases organic search traffic and referral traffic through SEO.
- Increases sales. Digital PR helps build the trust of a brand. When a consumer trusts a brand, they are more likely to buy.
Digital PR Vs Traditional PR
Traditional PR involves networking with journalists to get featured in print publications. At one time, the goal of a publicist who specialized in traditional PR was to leverage contact to get their clients promoted or quoted in media (e.g. newspapers, magazines, radio, and television) or crisis reputation management.
Here’s the well-known “PESO media model for PR” created by Valerie Turgeon to show the different types of media that PR pros can target.
Using digital PR provides opportunities for marketers to:
- Get interviews in online publications
- Increase an online presence
- Use the power of social media to drive growth and brand recognition
Today, most traditional PR specialists have adapted to include digital PR – often finding higher readerships or viewership in online content – although traditional forms of PR are still used effectively.
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