Digital PR: How to boost your brand with this strategy and increase its presence on the Internet

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If you're in the business world, you've probably heard of public relations (PR). However, the rules of the game have changed for strategies that were typically carried out offline.

Considering the speed with which digital transformation how to use the rcs database for direct marketing took hold in many processes after the COVID-19 pandemic , we will understand why digital public relations have made giant strides to renew their traditional version and get closer to users who are constantly connected.

Do you want to know more about this evolution and the possibilities it brings for companies? Join us and understand why digital public relations are essential to explore different communication opportunities in an increasingly digital market.

What is digital public relations?
Digital public relations (or Digital PR ) is a strategy that seeks to create a positive impression of a brand in digital media, build its reputation and consolidate its online presence .

Like traditional PR, digital PR aims to increase a brand's exposure, only this happens across a growing range of media.

Digital PR therefore pursues the same objective, with the advantage of having new tactics, platforms and tools to grow a brand's digital footprint, through interaction with other key players in the sector such as:

blogs ;
podcasts ;
influencers;
web directories;
news sites;
social networks;
forums.
Now, write this down: a well-executed digital PR strategy allows you to deliver a highly targeted message to increase your brand exposure . And even more interestingly, you can influence your audience’s perception.

branding
The transformation of traditional public relations in a digitalized world
According to Karina Ortiz , public relations remained static in countries such as Mexico, Colombia and Argentina until the arrival of digital transformation. This was the turning point that forced the sector to reinvent itself.

And although traditional PR is still relevant, it faces certain difficulties in the digital age, since it was designed, literally, in a different era. For example:

In the traditional model, communication is unilateral , that is, a message is generated and the audience consumes it without being able to choose or express their opinion. In Digital PR, you launch a message and it can be manipulated or co-created with consumers or, better said, prosumers ;
Traditional PR focuses on product updates and announcements. However, SMBs or small startups typically have one or two announcements to make each year. Therefore, it can be difficult to get media coverage using the traditional model;
The digital transformation has made online public relations go from being an alternative to a necessity for companies. With the new model, it is easier to find other ways to gain media coverage at a much lower cost.
As you can see, although both models contribute to improving reputation and increasing brand awareness to maximize sales, the difference lies in their approaches to content and interaction with those audiences.

What are the benefits of digital PR for brands?
Now that we have studied the basis of digital public relations, we will now show you the most notable benefits that brands perceive with this strategy.

1. Increase your online exposure and reputation without large investments
With different digital public relations actions such as Influencer Marketing, Guest Posting or Content Marketing, a brand can increase its digital visibility in a variety of online media .

In fact, partnering with a different medium brings you closer to a new audience by increasing online mentions of your company. Of course, the greater and better quality your online exposure is, the more positive references your target audience will hear about your brand.

What does this mean? A good digital PR strategy can not only make you famous, but also turn your customers into brand ambassadors .

2. Strengthen your brand authority in your niche market
Publishing quality content on reputable sites helps you position yourself as a leader in your industry. In other words, when authoritative websites reference your brand, people (and Google) perceive you as a reliable source of valuable information.

Do you see the power of quality content in a digital PR strategy? Gaining authority and becoming a reference is crucial to influencing your audience's opinion. In the end, it's about building arguments that validate your social proof.

3. Receive quality backlinks
Since the arrival of Google Penguin in 2012, PR and SEO are more connected than ever. With this update, Google encourages good Link Building practices .

This means that one of the main ranking factors that Google takes into account are backlinks . We know that the Penguin algorithm penalizes sites that obtain backlinks in a suspicious way and rewards those that obtain them naturally.

In this sense, Google favors sites that it recognizes as publishers of valuable and quality information. Therefore, the more high-quality backlinks you get, the more your website's ranking will improve .

4. Increase traffic to your website
Digital PR doesn't just reinforce your authority, it also expands your traffic sources . How? For example, if you include a link to your website in a guest post, you can attract referral traffic , possibly with new audiences.

Moreover, since backlinks have a positive effect on your website's organic ranking, you can achieve better positions in Google's search results pages . This is undoubtedly reflected in an increase in the number of organic visitors.

5. Transmit a message that favors the perception of your brand
Do you remember that one of the objectives of public relations is to influence the opinion of the audience? Well, Digital PR is no stranger to this. In fact, by taking advantage of digital formats it is easier to tell good stories linked to powerful messages .

These messages not only connect the brand with certain values, in what we know as branding . They can also motivate people to share these inspiring contents on their own social networks , creating a virtuous circle of greater visibility.

8 practical digital public relations actions to start your strategy
Now that you know what digital public relations is all about, we'll share 10 actions you can implement in your company's communications to get started with your strategy. Are you ready?

So, take note.

1. Create a list of media and companies you can partner with
First things first. To get started with digital PR, you need to identify which organizations, media outlets, bloggers, journalists and influencers work in your sector or a related segment and contact them.

There are some tools that you can use to find out what alliances your competitors have with other brands on the Internet and try to get the same spaces. Some of these tools are:

Ahrefs : gives you information about the Domain Authority of your potential contacts' websites, and also allows you to perform an analysis of their backlinks.
SEMrush : Here you have an essential SEO tool for analyzing your competitors and their backlinks.
Majestic: Like Ahrefs, this also helps you measure the trustworthiness of an external website.
BuzzSumo – lets you discover content ideas and influencers, as well as track brands, competitors, and backlinks.
HARO (Help a Reporter Out) – provides the opportunity to present yourself as an expert to an entire community of journalists. If you learn how to use the tool, you can secure valuable media coverage.
LinkedIn: the professional social network par excellence. Here you can build a network with valuable contacts who work in your sector. This is pure digital public relations.
2. Execute a Content Marketing strategy
Now, it is key to combine a digital public relations strategy with two allies that contribute to achieving maximum impact: we are talking about Content Marketing and SEO.

It all starts with your own plan. You need to produce quality, optimized content to rank for your target keywords . This will give you material to approach the contacts on your media and business lists.

Keep in mind that you can adapt content to different formats for reuse. For example, a single blog post can be expanded with new information to be repurposed into various content formats such as:

infographics ;
guest posts;
articles in local media;
articles in trade publications such as Forbes;
LinkedIn news update;
videos or podcasts;
interactive content .
The advantage of combining digital PR with content and SEO is that you get earned media – free exposure for your brand. In fact, the more your content is found and shared, the more your reputation and authority status begins to grow.

3. Create a good outreach email
A fundamental aspect of digital PR is emails . These will be your letter of introduction to your potential allies. Take care of the title to keep it short and compelling. Also, make sure it has a solid, concise and personalized narrative.

Additionally, you can write a press release or two with relevant information about your industry. Include something that the media, bloggers, or organizations will want to quote! And of course, be clear about what you want them to do with that information.

4. Write valuable guest posts that show you as an authority
Guest posting is a great way to start building the validity of your social proof and develop your narrative as an industry leader. Plus, they are surefire ways to get backlinks from high-authority websites.

To be successful with a guest post, you should know very well what your potential partner might be interested in.

This way you can think about what topic your company can contribute to. Once you have written the text, make sure to optimize the following aspects:

Anchor text
It's a good idea to use this anchor text to link your website to the keywords that are most relevant to your business. For example, if you sell food products, your anchor text could be "healthy eating."

Destination URL
This is the link to the website you will promote in your strategy. Ideally, it is the page you would like to attract more traffic to.

However, keep in mind that your potential allies are meticulous about the links they place on their site, so it is recommended that you direct traffic to one of your best blog posts rather than a form or a product page.

In addition, Google values ​​the naturalness of links, so if you put a hyperlink to your sales page, the search engine algorithm may interpret that you are cheating to sell more and so it will not consider it relevant to improve your credibility in its rankings.

If you want to learn more about Guest Posting best practices and how to use it in your digital PR plan, feel free to download our free, comprehensive guide on the topic below:

ebook guest blogging
5. Offer valuable data about your market with research
Besides a guest post, what else can you do to boost your digital PR? How about conducting a consumer study or a forecast for your sector?

Once you have the results, don't hesitate to share some of the most relevant data in a relevant specialized media outlet to gain natural mentions. This way you create a snowball effect where more and more media will cite your study.

6. Identify trending topics
If your company knows how to use social media, Google Trends or BuzzSumo to identify trends in your sector, it's time to share it by creating related content!

This type of information is quality raw material , not only for the media, but also for other companies in your segment.

Plus, if there’s breaking news in your industry, you can join the conversation and gain coverage by offering your expert knowledge to journalists. Not only does this increase your exposure, but it benefits SEO for media outlets . It’s a win-win !

7. Partner with micro influencers
Influencers are the key to engaging with audiences you didn't have access to before. They 're also key to increasing buyer confidence in your business. In fact, 49 % of consumers rely on influencer recommendations to make a purchasing decision .

For some business sectors such as retail , food or tourism, Influencer Marketing with celebrities or public figures can help a brand gain a great image and notoriety in a short time.

Likewise, Branded Content with micro influencers is also on the rise, as it is a way to promote your product without using direct actions, which can sometimes be somewhat intrusive for users.


8. Manage your social networks
Social media is a powerful tool in a digital PR campaign. Through it, you can connect with clients and influencers, study your competitors, and stay relevant in the conversation.

One social media management technique is to take advantage of the power of sharing and promoting your content to boost your sector. That is why it is important to offer valuable content, with information worth sharing and discussing.

Take advantage of the opportunity to gain the attention of your target audience, to subtly influence and persuade instead of trying to continually sell. And of course, listen to your audience to discover their desires and thus create better communication.


Conclusion
If you've made it this far, you already understand the potential of digital public relations to open up new communication opportunities and consolidate your digital presence through alliances with media, influencers and related companies.