A.wordsmith

While these are still the primary focus for some firms, more clients are turning to digital PR as a means of growing their brand presence beyond their traditional audience. Whenever a PR professional secures an online placement, they are also securing a higher Search Engine Optimization (SEO) score for the client. Establishes Yourself or Your Company as a Visionary Thought Leader Digital PR brings an opportunity to position one or several individuals within an organization as a thought leader. PR professionals can pitch abstracts to industry-related outlets that accept contributed content on behalf of someone – typically a CEO, founder or president of a company.

It starts off with a flurry of birthdays in my family, then a Guinness and shepherd’s pie at Kells on St. Patrick’s Day and with any luck some time away in the sunshine over spring break. I recall coming into the office early that day to prepare for a broadcast segment, and just before heading to the client’s studio for filming, receiving an email that the team will need to work from home for the next two weeks to help slow the spread of the pandemic. We had invested so much time and money in preparations, my parents had already ventured down, and because cases in much of Latin America were near zero (from what we understood about the virus at the time), my family in Lima assured me it was safe to follow through. But it was a stressful and emotional time that felt like a dream—school was canceled, our trip was canceled, my family was navigating repatriation, work had ground to a halt, and underpinning everything was the undeniable reality that this virus was now a very real threat to the entire globe.

You may wholeheartedly believe that your product or service can benefit everyone – regardless of age, gender, background or socioeconomic status – but the reality is this: If you’re trying to sell to everyone, you’re selling to no one. For this reason, it’s imperative to get specific about who you’re trying to influence, then put yourself in their shoes to imagine life from their point of view. This will help ensure that your brand promise, messaging and marketing materials are strategically designed to capture your specific customer’s hearts and minds. What product or service do they wish exists to help solve a specific pain point?

While a placement itself gets you in front of a publication’s readers, increases credibility and builds awareness among target audiences, communications pros and marketers alike should leverage other channels to ensure that they’re tapping into the full value of their coverage. Newsrooms are a great opportunity to increase trust with target audiences as over time, you’ll build up a collection of news stories that lend credibility to your organization. Companies like Nike, Stitch Fix and IBM use newsrooms to showcase everything from corporate announcements to thought leadership and brand stories, and gathering coverage in this manner also provides a singular place to highlight the types of expertise your company can provide reporters. For example, if your company is featured in a vertical publication, sharing the link alongside a personalized email message can open the door to new conversations with customers in that vertical and ensure that your brand stays top-of-mind.