Public Relations is a firmly-established business practice for most brands, but in the ever-changing digital landscape, traditional PR is just one portion of the complete media relations picture. Whether you’re looking to raise your profile, increase click-throughs, or sell more products, a traditional PR agency will get your key messages into the media. Still, there are more services that a communications company can provide for your business than just getting you coverage. At Percepto, our unique approach to digital communication strategy delivers a more robust solution than traditional PR and social media strategies individually.
Beyond Coverage
Newspapers, broadcasters and online publications provide a built-in audience, but businesses want relationships with these platforms for more than just publicity. Validation by a third party creates credibility. International communications software company, Cision, found that this is true even for news outlets themselves. Among the editors and journalists surveyed, 44% cited press releases from PR contacts as their “most trustworthy source of brand-related information,” whereas only 3% of global participants reported that they trust a company blog for information for their stories. Reviews and write-ups in established sources can communicate credibility to the target audience assuming your target demographic sees the article. Traditional PR alone works well when there is overlap between a media outlet’s readership and potential customers, but in a world of 24-hour news reporting, social media and constant publication of content across channels, platforms and networks, your media strategy needs to go a step beyond to keep up momentum.
Closing the Loop
A comprehensive communications strategy combines tools from the worlds of PR, digital marketing, and social media. After your story has been picked up by news outlets, your brand needs to make sure the news reverberates where it will pack a punch. Naturally, publications about your brand make top-notch content to share across social media platforms, but gaining press coverage should work in harmony with building your brand’s presence in a variety of digital spaces. That means not just reposting articles on your own Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and your other platforms, but also promoting your news through tools like advertisements on social media or building relationships in community groups. Pushing your promotion even further with a Google Ads campaign may even be the right choice for your business. In media relations today, what’s arguably more important than getting into the Times is how you leverage that coverage to continue promoting your messaging.
Steering Online Reputation
Blending your PR and digital marketing approaches affords you a greater degree of oversight with regard to the prevailing narrative that exists about you on the web. 93% of search engine users never click past the first page, which means that the top ten results from a Google search of your brand have an overwhelming impact on your overall online reputation. Apart from affecting your public perception, search results have a direct impact on sales. An estimated 22% of potential customers will take their business elsewhere if they find just one negative article on the first page of their search results.
Percepto understands how vital online reputation management is for your business, which is why we go above and beyond above-the-line. Digital PR, marketing, and social media are all components within our firm’s scope, but we recognize that these strategies are most effective when implemented in tandem. Utilizing the unique solution of a communications firm like Percepto produces a wider range of results than any of the segments individually.