Digital Marketing 101: What Every Emerging PR Professional Should Know
Digital Marketing 101: What Every Emerging PR Professional Should Know
Public relations and digital marketing have quickly become intertwined in the world of integrated communications. Within digital marketing, there are countless tools that can strengthen a PR strategy. In an increasingly digital world, understanding how digital marketing is applicable to PR has become crucial for emerging professionals. Digital marketing is often associated with social media alone, but there are many other tactics and mediums that are equally beneficial. Connecting with an audience and building a relationship is at the forefront of many PR professionals’ minds, and digital marketing can help achieve that.
Email Marketing
Aside from social media, there are many other ways digital marketing can enhance a PR strategy. One example is the use of email marketing. Email is a great way to communicate with an audience, and therefore build a relationship between the brand and the audience. There are opportunities for two-way communication where recipients are prompted to give feedback to the brand. This can build trust in the brand’s relationship with the audience. Email marketing can also be highly personalized. Just think back to a time when a company sent you a promotion and the first line said your name; this is one way that personalization occurs. Personalization is important because it makes an audience feel like they are important to the brand, which reinforces the relationship. Linking a website with a call to action in an email can also generate traffic on a company’s website. This is important because it improves SEO. Improved SEO can boost a website on the Search Engine Results Page, which means that the website is easier to search.
Blogging
Blogging is another great digital marketing tool that has become integrated with PR. Not only does blogging build a brand’s online presence, but also serves as the brand’s own media channel. This owned media can generate website traffic, connect with a brand’s audience, and become a resource for consumers. Blogging is a great way to create engaging content that otherwise may not be suited for other platforms. Because blogging has creative freedom, it doesn’t have to be purely informational. Topics that are relevant to a brand don’t have to be about the brand specifically. For example, for a resort in a tourist destination, a relevant topic would be activities to do in the area, not just activities to do at the resort. Finding topics that are searchable (which means identifying what people are interested in but may not find information about when they search for it on search engines), is helpful for blogging. Doing this is an easy and effective way to plug the brand into the blog without making the entire blog about the brand.
Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization, commonly known as SEO, is the process of improving your website to increase visibility on search engines such as Google. SEO has quickly become one of the most important aspects of digital marketing. With an abundance of content on the internet, SEO is essentially how a product or service can be found by consumers. As PR professionals, SEO is crucial in effectively reaching an audience. Without it, a product or service may never be discovered by a potential consumer. You don’t have to be an expert in SEO to use it, either. While there are many people who specialize in it, a general understanding of it can do more for a brand than we may think. Using keywords in blogs is one example. The keywords can boost your blog post and make it more searchable. This is one example of how SEO relates to PR, but there are many other ways as well.
A Developing Industry
Aside from email marketing, blogging, and SEO, there are many other tools, strategies, and complexities in the digital marketing world. These tools are simply a good starting point for those interested in learning more about how to apply digital marketing to PR. Digital marketing is developing and changing every day, so keeping up with what’s happening is important. This means that PR is growing all the time, too. Try subscribing to a digital marketing newsletter to stay up to date with developments and trends. This is an easy and effective way to expose yourself to information that will help you grow professionally. Ultimately, having an understanding of digital marketing will give you beneficial knowledge as an emerging PR professional.
About Riley
Riley is a senior pursuing a degree in Advertising & Public Relations with a minor in Writing. This will be her second year with GrandPR, where she previously served as an Account Associate and now serves as the firm’s Chief Operations Officer. Riley spent her summer as the Marketing Intern at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Traverse City. After graduation, she hopes to begin her career in-house at a company that aligns with her personal values and interests.
