Why You Need Digital PR

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digital pr

Business is complicated. 

Communications shouldn’t be. 

The right message for each target audience, delivered via the right channel at the right time, is what gets the job done. 

This is where digital PR comes in. 

What is Digital PR?

Digital PR is the process of managing public relations for a company through the use of digital channels such as websites, mobile apps, email newsletters, etc. The goal of digital PR is to increase awareness for your company about a product or service among consumers.

Why is everyone talking about Digital PR?

Digital PR is one of the fastest growing areas of public relations. Digital PR is a way for businesses to connect with customers through various channels like social media, search engines, etc. This allows them to reach out to potential clients and build relationships with them, something that was previously difficult to do with traditional PR. Digital PR makes it easier to increase awareness of your business, generate leads, and ultimately convert those leads into sales.

How Digital PR helps your brand to break through the noise

Brands face greater competition than ever before. It isn’t important to just get attention. It has to be relevant! 

Zen’s PR team knows exactly how to deliver, so if you are looking for a PR agency that delivers proven business results, look no further. 

While many digital PR firms make bold claims, we walk the talk. We are the only agency to be honored by both the White House and the United Nations as a Top 100 Company in the United States. 

A PR strategy is a crucial piece of a holistic marketing program. When planned and executed effectively, digital PR can be a highly effective lead generation, credibility and awareness tool for organizations.

Buyers today are information-savvy and research-oriented when evaluating and making business decisions for their organizations. 

That means organizations have to reach prospects on many different channels that influence buying decisions, including business and pr trade publications, social media and review sites, and other third-party sources such as blogs or product forums.

This requires a strategic, multi-pronged approach to public relations.

7 Basic Tenets of a Digital PR Strategy

Companies need to create a solid foundation for B2B PR success. Blindly pitching reporters and commenting on breaking news stories with no good plan or strategy is risky and restricts results. Rather, focus on establishing these essential components of a digital PR strategy:

1. Accurate Buyer Personas:

B2B purchases are much more involved than most consumer purchases. They frequently require bigger budgets and complex technology or solutions. Buyer personas allow organizations to better understand their target audiences and develop a digital PR program that appeals to their own needs, pain points, and pursuits.

2. Precise Messaging:

Tailor your messaging and highlight the most compelling product or service advantages and differentiators for each target market. Consider your buyer personas and also the particular challenges faced by each audience to create content and digital PR campaigns that have maximum impact. Are your key messages as crisp as possible? Do they adequately differentiate you? 

We dig deep to discover the words, tone, and image that best resonate with who you are and connect it to what gets you the most share of voice. The end result? Your brand story is one people love to share—and it leads to more opportunities for you.

3. Competitive Landscape Analysis:

Take the time to truly understand the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors and the greater landscape. Assess their media, target audiences and digital marketing campaigns to better guide your digital PR strategy. In many cases, their success can be reverse engineered to benefit you!

4. Compelling Thought Leadership:

Your team is your most valuable asset. Your leadership, your sales team, and even your most technical folks are often well versed in market trends, understand pain points and company differentiators. These in-house experts can provide great fodder for media pitches, interviews and content such as blog posts and infographics. They don’t have to be awesome communicators. They provide the steak. We provide the sizzle.

5. Turn Data into Dollars:

A strong and steady flow of newsworthy company announcements is great, but most companies have to create their own news to secure earned media and spur coverage on a consistent basis. A great way to do this is through your own data and studies. Data and stats from reputable sources such as CB Insights or Forrester or Gartner add credibility to media pitches and news stories. We can go even further by leveraging internal sources or conduct and create original research reports which generate media coverage and leads.

6. Amplify your Digital PR:

We ensure that you are able to maximize every piece of coverage. How? By promoting across social media, via landing pages, email, mobile apps and at events/trade-shows.

7. Track Results:

What gets measured gets managed. We measure both quantitatively and qualitatively to see what’s working and where to double down and get the most bang for your buck.

What can B2B Digital PR do for you?

  • Increase visibility.
  • Create brand awareness.
  • Increase demand generation.
  • Improve stakeholder relations.
  • Go from corporate messaging to compelling storytelling.
  • Reenergize subsidiaries.
  • Drive sales.
  • Establish thought leadership.

Digital PR Agency Services We Offer: 

  • B2B Marketing and PR around New Product and Service Launches.
  • Creating Compelling Content and Original Studies.
  • Newsjacking (Where we tie your company into what’s current and trending).
  • Media and Press Training
  • Press Kit Creation – Digital and Physical
  • Analysis and Recommendations on Current Digital PR Strategy
  • B2B Influencer Marketing

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The 5-Day MBA
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Sound like you? Get in touch.

Day 6: How to Stay Relevant on Dark Social (Extra Credit)

Ready for some extra credit? I’m about to throw you some jaw-dropping stats.

In today’s B2B landscape, thought leadership content is more important than ever.

But B2B brands aren’t going all in. Why?

It isn’t as easy to track as other initiatives.

Here’s the thing, though: 

Even if it’s hard to measure, it’s still meaningful.

According to the 2024 Edelman-LinkedIn B2B Thought Leadership Impact Report, 52% of decision-makers and 54% of C-level executives spend over an hour a week consuming thought leadership content. 73% report trusting this content more than marketing materials.

And they don’t leave comments. They don’t hit the like button. 

They share it on dark social, privately. 

The impact is undeniable.

75% of decision-makers have explored a product or service they weren’t considering after consuming thought leadership content, and 60% realized their organization was missing an opportunity thanks to it.

If you thought those numbers sounded impressive, wait until you read this: 

90% are more receptive to sales outreach from companies that share consistent, high-quality thought leadership.

86% are more likely to include these companies in the RFP process (seat at the table, anyone?), and 60% are willing to pay a premium to work with them. 

You can’t make this up!

As long as B2Bs continue to choose the merely measurable over the meaningful, they’ll keep missing golden opportunities. Now that you know, you can stop your brand from falling into this trap. Stay vigilant by frequently asking yourself these 4 questions: 

Question 1: How does our thought leadership content support our overall business goals and objectives?

Action: Ensure that your thought leadership content strategy is aligned with your company’s overarching business objectives, such as increasing market share, driving revenue growth, or establishing your brand as an industry leader.

Result: Ensure alignment with business objectives.

Question 2: Does our thought leadership content address the most pressing challenges, questions, and aspirations of our target audience?

Action: Conduct thorough research to understand the needs, preferences, and pain points of your target audience. Develop thought leadership content that provides valuable insights, solutions, and perspectives that resonate with their specific challenges and goals.

Result: Stay focused on customer needs.

Question 3: How can we track and measure the engagement and impact of our thought leadership content, even if it’s not as straightforward as other marketing metrics?

Action: Implement a comprehensive measurement framework that goes beyond simple metrics like likes and comments. Track indicators such as time spent on page, scroll depth, content downloads, newsletter sign-ups, and referral traffic. Use surveys and feedback loops to gather qualitative insights from your audience on how your content has influenced their perceptions and decisions.

Result: Accurately track engagement and impact.

Question 4: How can we ensure that our thought leadership content is effectively integrated with our sales and marketing efforts?

Action: Collaborate closely with your sales and marketing teams to develop a cohesive content strategy that supports the entire customer journey. Use thought leadership content to nurture leads, support sales conversations, and establish your brand as a trusted resource. Provide your sales team with the tools and training they need to leverage thought leadership content effectively in their outreach and interactions with prospects.

Result: Synergistic integration with sales and marketing.

And that’s a wrap! You’ve reached the final email of the 5-Day MBA in PR. Congratulations!

You now know more about earned media and PR than the majority of business leaders out there.

Over the past week, you’ve seriously leveled up your knowledge and your game.

On Day 1, you explored different types of PR and learned how to choose what makes sense for you.

On Day 2, you discovered why a strategic distribution plan is vital to the success of earned media efforts.

On Day 3, you identified a crucial media reframe needed for maximizing visibility.

On Day 4, you figured out how to leverage contemporary events to your advantage. 

On Day 5, you connected the dots between PR and sales. 

And today, you learned why thought leadership content is critical—even if it isn’t as easily directly measurable as other initiatives.

This is enough to make you a very savvy business leader when it comes to PR. You should be able to ask the right questions and start driving results! 

And if you found this e-Course helpful, send it to a colleague! It would be the ultimate compliment. 

But the truth is, I can only go so deep in an email course.

So, if you’re wondering how I can work in a deeper capacity with you, there are a few ways I can be of service: 

  1. I can come speak to your company or industry—not just on earned media but on how to actually stay RELEVANT in a world that is changing at the speed of your feed. I’ve spoken for everyone from NASA to Marriott. You can check my availability here.
  2. You can hire my awesome team at Zen Media to execute on behalf of your brand. Day 1 to Day 5 and then some. Here’s what clients have to say about working with us.

I genuinely hope this has been useful for you in your journey.

This isn’t goodbye, but more of an I’ll see you later!

All the best, 

Shama