The rapidly changing news cycle of today has called for a new breed of Digital PR firms that can feed a client’s expertise out to local, national, international and trade media almost instantly when a trending or breaking story is started. While traditional PR firms would plan a strategic PR campaign months in advance to gradually publicise stories about their Clients, Digital PR firms have to be able to respond today to make the most of a hot news topic relevant to their client, or miss out on what could have been the biggest opportunity of the year to pitch their client as an expert in their field.
How do Digital PR Firms Respond so Fast?
What makes Digital PR firms different is that they utilise technology to monitor the news media for the keywords most relevant to their client’s business, and then the software sends out the relevant press releases to media outlets that haven’t yet produced media coverage of the news story, providing them with a new angle and citing the PR firm’s client as an expert in this field. This may generate website traffic, or interviews for the client. Within a day, a day when the client’s area of subject matter expertise is most relevant, the digital PR agency could create interviews and conversations with several national-level journalists at places like the Huffington Post, New York Times, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal and Reuters. This could result in coverage for the client in national and national journals, online media, and newspapers.
What Distinguishes One Digital PR Firm from Another?
Due to the use of software, which may vary from one agency to another, but should generally provide similar results, the determining factor of success is often the journalist contacts that the agency has relevant to the client’s market. Contacts at national press level is all well and good, but if your niche market is unlikely to receive press coverage then that’s not of the same value as relevant trade press contacts in your own industry. So often it’s best to find a Digital PR firm that specializes in and has proven results in your industry.
A successful Digital PR firm should have case studies of successful long-term campaigns they’ve delivered for their clients that are measurable. They will be able to cite the number of placements and interviews generated, as well as the increase in website traffic and conversions created by the campaigns. They will also be willing to provide a list of media outlets where they have established long-term relationships which have resulted in repeated media coverage. During the pitch they will show an understanding of your market, typically by providing a highly relevant list of over thirty keywords that they would produce their press release articles on, so that you feel reassured that the coverage they generate will be pertinent to your business.
Use of a good Digital PR firm is an essential tool in a Marketing plan and can reap rewards very quickly.
