The future of PR in a digital landscape
In a world where most of our media is consumed online, from the comfort of our homes in our new makeshift offices, digital PR has never been more important for businesses to reach their audience, writes Simon Corbett, managing director and founder of Jargon PR.
Traditional PR, primarily coverage in print publications, has made its way down the list of effective tactics and is now significantly outranked by digital forms of PR: namely social media, blogs, and other online content. If executed correctly, businesses can take advantage of the benefits of digital PR whilst we transition to our ‘new normal’.
Why digital PR?
If we know one thing about the world at the moment, it’s that the state of every industry is constantly changing; whether this is due to the Government restrictions on what we can and can’t do, evolving consumer demand or the outlook for the next few months. As a result, we need to be agile and have the ability to quickly yet carefully communicate the correct messages while they are still relevant. And this is where digital comes into play.
Now, as some sense of normality resumes and we start to see a light at the end of the tunnel, we must consider how to communicate the ‘new normal’ to our audiences. As online methods become more accessible in today’s climate, businesses need to utilise digital PR tactics to effectively reach their audience with a post-Covid communication strategy. Posting on social media, recording a podcast or sharing our opinions in a blog is typically a faster process than communicating through offline methods, which is vital in today’s ever-changing landscape.
Reaching your target audience
Content provides a means of connecting with your target audience. This could be providing commentary during the uncertain times that we are currently facing, or communicating a solution to a customer’s problem. With digital PR, businesses can reach a much broader audience quicker, faster and in a more cost-effective way.
There are a whole host of trade publications that can only be found online, which now publish more content via their online platforms than their print magazine.
Even before the pandemic, many magazines had begun making the move from print and digital only. From the general to the more niche media, there will always be a range of digital publications that can put businesses in front of their exact target audience.
Social media is not only a cost-effective way to connect with audiences, it provides businesses with a platform to actively engage with potential customers and develop a conversation. If you’re embarking on a social media strategy for the first time, begin with researching which platforms your audience uses. It’s a waste of time and resources spreading yourself across all the main platforms as it’s likely they’ll only be most receptive across one or two. Once you’ve determined your platforms, you can then tailor messages and content specifically to the interests of your audience.
Measuring the impact of a campaign
A significant benefit of digital PR is that results can be measured faster and more easily than traditional methods. Campaigns can be tracked, monitored and measured to provide coherent reporting so you can truly measure the impact of a campaign.
Through digital PR, businesses can gain backlinks from published articles to tie in with their SEO strategy and directly generate website traffic, using trackable links on social media. As a result, we can develop a better understanding of the aspects of campaigns that are working well.
Of course, traditional PR methods will always play a part in our overall PR strategy. However, the past few months have shown us just how important the shift to online is. Through digital PR, every business can achieve its goals.
For more information call Simon Corbett and the team at Jargon PR or email Corbett:
0118 9739370
Jargon PR is providing PR support for the Thames Valley Tech Awards and the Thames Valley Business Magazine Awards
