Digital Marketing and PR: The 'Relation' Is Closer Than You Think
We've had many clients approach us in the past asking if we handle PR, or Public Relations. You may normally associate PR with celebrities, but businesses use it too! Did you know that digital marketing and PR have a lot more in common than you may think? Let's take a look at some examples.
What is Public Relations?
Public Relations is based on persuasion. The main goal is to get the public to be on the side of the client. A PR firm will network to find trusted connections to endorse their clients. The idea is to get big names to support your client so that they are received more positively by the public. This can be achieved in a variety of ways based on the person or product you are promoting. You could have someone famous publicly endorse your client's product in a speech, on the internet, or other forms of communication. The goal is to get buzz happening for your client. By bouncing off of other people/company's platforms, you can spread positive PR about your client in no time. Most of the time, Public Relations uses unpaid or earned channels of communication, whereas advertising focuses heavily on paid promotion. PR is essentially designed to keep the client's reputation looking good, and to save it if a crisis occurs (scandals, rumors, etc.)
Who Uses PR Services?
Who can use Public Relations? Though often associated with celebrities, brands and products also use PR tactics to become more popular. Some major brands that have used PR successfully in the past include Old Spice, Dove, Doritos, McDonalds, etc. Any consumer product can benefit from some solid public relations work because it helps to build trust in the brand. Consumers are more likely to listen to celebrities and their peers than they are to listen to the brand itself. There's a beauty in working together to expanding platforms, improve reputations, and increase sales/popularity! PR agencies can be very costly, so some smaller businesses are not able to benefit from PR services. However, most PR work can be done by digital marketing agencies with no trouble!
How Digital Marketing is Very Similar to PR
How can public relations and digital marketing possibly relate? The services of both overlap quite a bit. Considering that a lot of PR is done on social media or other digital platforms these days, it makes sense that the digital marketing realm was able to move in on PR. Here are just a few of the many services that a digital agency can easily handle that is traditionally considered PR:
- Reputation Management: We have some big news for you; digital marketing agencies can handle reputation management quite easily, which is roughly 90% of what PR is! For BusySeed specifically, we offer reputation management across all of the major review platforms. We'll keep an eye on comments and reviews on sites like Yelp, Google My Business, Facebook, TripAdvisor, Home Advisor, Angie's List, and more! Our team responds to comments to show that your brand is customer-oriented and involved with what goes on on social media. It's crucial to respond to comments that are positive and negative, and the top digital marketing agencies will have no problem doing so.
- Social Media Posting: Digital agencies are experts on social media marketing! We will build custom content for you that will spread awareness and get your audience to engage. We can share photos, videos, graphic design, and even testimonials! Social media marketing is a great way to show off your brand and product to the public. Though it's not typical of PR agencies, we can even boost your posts to show them to a wider audience. Your digital marketing agency will create a strong digital presence that will rival any efforts of a public relations firm!
- Event Planning/Management: Another way that digital agencies can take over the work of PR firms is by getting involved with event planning/management. Most commonly, your agency will already be well-versed in event management, but event planning may be a bit new to them. Generally speaking, we are running ads to show off the event and get more guests. It's honestly rare that we have any say in planning. That being said, we can certainly point you in the right direction as to what types of events have historically seen the best attendance, and we can survey the public to find out information about dates, times, etc. Once the event is all set up, we'll take the reins entirely and get you leads and ticket sales!
- Outreach/Networking: Looking to expand your circle? Digital marketing agencies can handle that too! BusySeed has run outreach/networking campaigns for dozens of clients with great success! We will reach out to people that you are interested in working with. For products, we can reach out to retailers, wholesalers, etc., and for more traditional PR we can chat with some influencers. We'll help you find partners and alliances that will boost your status and get you noticed. We can use a variety of platforms to accomplish this based on your specific needs. Your inner circle is about to get a lot bigger!
- Market Research: You can certainly count on a digital marketing agency to do some in-depth market research for you! If you want to be successful with your PR efforts, you need to understand your target market as well as consumer behavior. You can turn to a digital agency for this research rather than spending significantly more at a PR firm. The BusySeed team dives into market research for each and every client already! We need to know similar information so that we can run successful advertising campaigns. We can easily look even deeper to assist with PR plans. Digital agencies have access to tools and software that lets us see what the competition is doing, how we can improve, and what the audience looks like. We have market research covered!
As you can see, you are not limited to public relations agencies when looking to work on public relations! The top digital marketing agencies will be able to cover most, if not all, of the PR services you're looking for. If you don't specifically see PR listed on an agency's website, you can always call to check. Remember, the services you're looking for might just have a different name in the digital marketing world! If you're ready to start working with an agency for PR and other online services, contact BusySeed at (888) 353-1484. We can help get you the results you've been longing for!
