What is Digital PR and what are its characteristics?
You may or may not know what Digital PR is, but it is a lifelong profession that, like so many others, has simply made its way on the web.
Today, no marketing strategy is complete if PR (Public Relations or as we would say in Spanish Public Relations) is not taken into account, especially if we take into account the high impact of branded content.
In this post, we will dedicate ourselves to explaining the differences between traditional and digital public relations, we will briefly address the profile of a public relations officer and, of course, we will explain why you should add this discipline to your digital marketing strategy.
Let’s define Digital PR.
Digital PR can be defined as the mix between public relations of a lifetime, with content marketing and influence on social networks.
Basically, it is based on increasing the digital presence of a brand through alliances with content creators and influencers, in order to reach a target audience and increase the company’s reputation.
PR Traditional vs. PR Digital.
Surely, you are wondering what are the main differences between traditional public relations and Digital PR.
Perhaps the most obvious answer would be the medium, because before the existence of the Internet, public relations specialists were mainly dedicated to generating relationships with journalists and one-way media such as radio and television to announce the news of a brand.
They were also participating in industry events and making big product launches, which equated to higher ad spend and little to no measurement of success, beyond sales.
With the arrival of the 2.0 phenomenon, reflected in the adoption of social networks. The job of the public relations officer has changed drastically, now it must focus on individuals with a high degree of influence over their followers.
You have to make alliances with content creators who have their own medium, almost always a blog, which enjoys a lot of credibility and consequently has a high reputation.
And also, it has to continue relying on journalism, but focused mainly on brand journalism, what today is usually classified as branded content and which is only one of the many aspects of content marketing.
PR is not advertising.
Actually, Digital PR is not advertising because it is not based on directly selling the products and services of a company.
Rather, PR consists of something much more ethereal, such as spreading the values that a brand defends and promotes.
Therefore, the contents that the public relations specialist develops are essentially pieces that connect with feelings, ideals, dreams, concerns or goals of a universal order. Like courage, family, honor, generosity…
Another detail that differentiates PR from advertising is the objective it pursues, because while advertising aims to improve the acceptance of a product or service to increase conversions or sales, public relations seek to generate positive opinions regarding the brand.
Currently, the best example of this continues to be Coca-Cola, a brand that established itself in the heart of a country like the United States and generated a popular saying that later gave its name to a best-seller titled “God, Country and Coca Cola”.
How to create a PR strategy.
To start a Digital PR strategy, the first thing to consider are 3 specific elements, namely:
- The message you want to convey.
- The objectives to be achieved.
- The communication channels to be used.
Once the previous points have been defined, the appropriate people will be chosen or categorized to spread the company’s message in its digital media.
The importance is in the earned media:
This is perhaps the most relevant data, public relations are mainly focused on building the reputation of the brand, which links it in the world of SEO with link building strategies by the Off Page SEO Services.
For the PR to be successful, the brand must have a broad base of earned media and that are relevant within the sector where the company does business.
Who spreads the message of Digital PR?
Currently there is an equation to generate a public relations strategy at the Internet level, it is the following:
PR Digital = Generators + Propagators + Vitalizers.
And here is the meaning of each of these elements:
- Generators:Also known as Prosumers (English Prosumers or Professional Consumers) are users of our product or service category, who are also dedicated to generating quality content on the Internet, as specialized bloggers who enjoy great reputation and credibility.
- Propagators:They are well-known media that make use of social networks, such as journalists or famous audiovisual programs.
- Vitalizers:They are the influencers; it does not matter if we talk about micro-influencers or people with a large number of followers. The important thing is that you choose someone who has a wide reach, a lot of credibility and a gift for selling.
Summary of the post and frequently asked questions about Digital PR:
What is Digital PR?
It is a mix between public relations, content marketing and social media. Where it seeks to enhance the image of a brand through the values that it seeks to promote and defend.
What is the difference between traditional public relations and Digital PR?
The big differences between these two ways of approaching public relations are:
- The broadcast channel used,
- The response times in which content is published, which in digital media is usually less
- The possibility of measuring results in real time thanks to web analytics platforms.
What are earned media and why are they important in Digital PR?
Earned media are third-party sites that decide to promote and link to a website’s content, either because they find it important, quality, or relevant to their audience.
Digital PR is mainly based on generating satisfactory mentions of a brand, through the construction of links and references. In a nutshell, your main goal is to build a solid earned media network for a given website.
Conclusion.
Carrying out a Digital PR strategy is quite complicated if you do not have the experience, an excellent network of contacts or you do not have basic notions of guest blogging, press releases, networking or social seller.
It is recommended that if you are just starting out, seek the support of a digital marketing agency that can advise you and generate those interactions that you need so much to make your brand known in the digital market.