Businessman checks marketing analytics on computer.
The internet is a wonderful place, brimming with opportunities for businesses. However, it’s also a very crowded and competitive atmosphere with millions of voices vying for the attention of consumers. Differentiating yourself from everyone else will take some work and you will want to stay ahead of PR trends.
Increasing your visibility, credibility, and authority can help with owning your industry online. Getting started is as simple as two letters: PR. Here are five ways that adding public relations to your company strategy will have your brand ready for liftoff:
1. PR Gets Your Name Out There
A lot of people associate public relations with media efforts to recover your brand position after a corporate scandal or major error. Take a look at any tech companies that have had their customer data compromised in recent months and the measures they took to try to keep their brands afloat. While damage control is certainly a common use of PR, though, it’s not the only one.
Public relations strategy can also help new businesses get their name out to the public. Previously unknown brands can generate interest in new products or services by using a PR strategy to create and distribute different forms of media to gain publicity. This can involve placing bylined content in online publications or earning third-party mentions of your company in those same (or other) media outlets.
Let’s say you’re an early-stage tech startup, and you just landed a deal to supply Tesla with a new computer chip for their next edition self-driving vehicles. This hypothetical dream come true is the perfect chance to launch your brand to stardom by using guest posts and features to highlight this achievement to the rest of the world.
2. PR Improves Your SEO
Not a lot of people realize just how tightly wound SEO practices are with public relations strategy. SEO, short for search engine optimization, was revolutionized by Google and is now a staple of digital marketing. In fact, it’s close to impossible to put together a successful PR strategy today without a touch of SEO in the mix.
Getting started with digital PR will kick off with a lot of cross-promotion between sites you own and partners you are close to. This is your first chance to put SEO to the test. Watch how your metrics (unique monthly visitors, time on site, clickthrough rate, etc.) improve as you focus on getting backlinks and keyword placements via your content.
As you improve your SEO skills while perfecting your PR strategy, every other aspect of your business will benefit. Good SEO will enhance your marketing efforts, bringing more people to your website. These individuals become leads and will eventually lead to increased conversions. SEO has a snowball effect that will grow your business as it picks up momentum.
3. PR Helps Build Trust
Trust is one of the highest customer priorities in 2021. This is due in large part to the tumultuous events of the past year, coupled with consumers’ growing desire to do business with companies that are transparent and share similar core values.
As noted earlier, one of the main times companies lean on PR is when they’re looking to save face after a public embarrassment. Brands need consumers to trust them, and public relations is one of the best ways to re-establish and increase that trust even in the midst of a brand crisis.
While that use is understandable, companies should be utilizing PR as a preventative measure rather than a way to patch things up when they go south. When you use content to become a leader in your space, readers and viewers will trust you for your insight and knowledge. Not only will that prompt them to come to you for your products and services, it will help preserve consumer confidence in your brand even if you make a misstep.
4. PR Forges New Connections
In your efforts to use PR to own your industry online, you’ll rub shoulders with others who are already masters of their space. Their guidance will be extremely helpful to you in the opening stages of a new PR strategy.
Let’s reconsider guest posts for just a moment. Perhaps part of your PR strategy is to establish yourself as a thought leader in the ever-changing artificial intelligence sector. Connecting with editors and publishers of online tech reviews to share guest posts under your byline will reflect very positively on both your personal brand and that of your company.
The connections you make when seeking out places to share and post content will come in handy often. An editor who liked your insights might help you land a speaking opportunity at a national tech conference. An investor who reads your content could reach out to express interest in funding your next venture. PR will open avenues with these individuals just as much as it does with consumers.
5. PR Helps You Develops a Better Content Strategy
Consistent, quality content is how you will position yourself as a leader in your industry. With so many other things on your plate, from managing your supply chain to making payroll and more, content creation can sometimes get left on the back burner. When you prioritize a PR strategy, your content will get a big boost.
There are tons of stats that back up the need for quality content in 2021. For example, 61% of consumers report that their purchasing decisions are influenced by custom content. Want that brand to be you? Start working on your PR strategy.
When you’re just starting out, look into an evolved digital PR firm that can help you get your feet planted in the right place. The firm will be able to share its expertise with you by signaling red flags to watch for such as keyword stuffing. It can also point you toward the best platforms and publications for sharing your content.
Are you ready to own your industry inside the digital world and out? Then stop neglecting your PR strategy. Sit down with your team to draft a plan that uses PR and content strategies to catapult you to the top of your respective field.
