How To Incorporate Digital Marketing Into Your PR Strategy
Long gone are the days where public relations and marketing teams operate on opposite ends of the spectrum. At one point, both departments operated separately from one another with different objectives. A PR team traditionally centered in on media relations to get a client published in a positive light in the media and in the public’s eye. On the other end of things, a digital marketing team usually focused on promoting awareness, sales, and leads to a client’s customer base. In the past, each department used different tactics and strategies for accomplishing the respective goals.
While this strategy was once the best avenue to take, it is time to face reality – PR and marketing teams must come together now that the world of digital is evolving. The inception of the internet changed the way communications companies operate. Everyone is online – from where they get news and updates, to how they connect with family and friends. Because of this, it is time to adapt and align PR and marketing efforts with an approach that thinks in terms of both traditional and digital.
One of the first steps to moving forward with this new approach is to encourage collaboration and communication between the two departments. For example, companies often hold “lunch-and-learn” sessions where different teams can learn new trends that will benefit their strategies moving forward. Many companies also send team members from different departments to the same event or conference for varying perspectives. It is also advantageous to set up daily or weekly meetings to go over tasks for the week or day, so everyone is aware of the clients that are being worked on. This allows room for brainstorming from the PR side and the marketing side to see what new ideas can be implemented into the overall strategy.
The above examples are just a few of the concepts that can help to increase teamwork, collaboration, and growth within each department.
Ways to Combine Digital and PR Efforts
There are many ways to combine aspects of digital strategies into your traditional PR efforts. Some of the common strategies include:
Pitches: When a client is published online, it is beneficial if editors can utilize some high-ranking search terms within the story. However, it is often not acceptable to tell an editor or journalist which key terms to place within the story because it comes off as self-promoting, rather than newsworthy. To accomplish this, it is recommended to have an SEO expert review any pitches for media outreach. An SEO expert can work in some key phrases within the pitch that may lead to the journalist adding it into his or her publication without fully realizing these phrases are search terms.
Press Releases: When a PR team is putting out a digital press release, there are two key factors that should be taken into consideration. One, it is important to have relevant keywords sprinkled in where appropriate. This is usually within the boilerplate at the bottom of a release but can also be placed throughout the release if it makes sense. Two, every digital press release should have links back to a client’s website for link-building purposes. Having strong backlinks can help your organic rankings rise dramatically.
Websites and Landing Pages: If a client is having a website or landing page created, there a few tactics to involve both the PR and digital marketing teams with. First, a PR team can provide insight on what may interest the media when searching for a client online. Second, an SEO expert can offer advice for various search terms that should be included in the copy for ranking purposes.
Social Media: As many people know, social media is not going anywhere. Social media is continuously growing and shows no signs of slowing down. It is important for clients to have optimized profiles with active posting habits. Engagement on social posts also plays a role organically. A PR team can help with creating exciting subject lines and copy for media hits that can be shared on social to help encourage user engagement.
Video Interviews: Video content is becoming more and more popular as the years go by. If a client has secured an online interview or is recording a digital presentation, an SEO expert can help insert relevant keywords into the script where possible. In addition, it is important to add videos to a YouTube channel with the appropriate tags and keywords so that a client’s videos appear in search as well. This may not always be possible, but it can definitely benefit the client’s overall online presence when it is.
By considering the above tips for a client’s strategy moving forward, both the PR and marketing departments will learn techniques that will drive better results for the client. It is important for teams to operate cohesively as a whole in order to see a successful campaign in this new day and age.
