In a way, public relations are the precursor to traditional link building.
Back in the day, getting covered by the media was THE way to put yourself in front of a target audience.
Nowadays, it’s much the same – just the platforms are different.
Instead of TV and magazines you have the Internet.
In this article, we’ll discuss how to use digital PR for link building by generating media coverage for your business.
Let’s begin.
Link building cheat sheet
What is Digital PR?
Digital PR is the modern evolution of traditional public relations, focusing on securing online media coverage for a business.
Instead of TV or print, it leverages online platforms to reach target audiences, aiming to generate valuable backlinks and enhance brand visibility through journalistic coverage.
Let’s look at some examples.
3 Digital PR Examples
Podcasting
Guest appearances on relevant podcasts are a fantastic way to reach a new audience and build PR backlinks.
For example, our very own co-founder appeared on over a hundred podcasts over the past 4 years, including the ProfitLed podcast by eWebinar.
This content strategy not only allowed him to share his expertise and insights with the ProfitLed audience but also resulted in a valuable backlink to our website with a branded anchor text.
Seeking out podcast opportunities where your expertise aligns with the show’s focus is a great way to generate authentic and authoritative links.
It also allows for a more in-depth discussion of your brand and its offerings than a quick mention in an article might.
Press Releases
When Impossible Foods launched their plant-based sausage product, they issued a press release.
This wasn’t just a product announcement; it tied into the broader conversation about sustainable food systems and plant-based eating.
This press release was picked up by numerous media outlets, including major food publications and business news sites, generating significant media coverage and backlinks.
The key to their success was a combination of a genuinely innovative product and a compelling narrative around food trends.
Journalist Coverage
TechCrunch recently published an article about Archive, a SaaS company that provides resale platform software to fashion brands.
The article, titled “Archive raises $30M to solve fashion’s pollution problem with online resales,” covered Archive’s recent Series B funding round.
This coverage wasn’t accidental. Archive issued a press release about the funding, which TechCrunch then picked up.
The resulting article not only mentions Archive prominently but also includes backlinks to their website.
This is standard practice in online journalism.
The TechCrunch article serves as a powerful example of a digital PR strategy in action.
It demonstrates how a SaaS company can leverage a newsworthy event (funding) to generate positive media coverage, increase brand visibility, and potentially earn valuable backlinks from authoritative publications.
The article also quotes Archive’s co-founder, positioning her and the company as thought leaders in the burgeoning resale market.
How Does Digital PR Intersect with SEO Link Building?
The links you earn through digital PR carry more SEO value than “regular” backlinks.
Think about it: a link from a random blog with low traffic and questionable authority pales in comparison to a link from a well-respected publication like TechCrunch, The New York Times, or a leading industry blog.
These links, earned through media coverage, carry significantly more weight for several reasons:
Authority
Links from established publications signal to search engines that your website is a trusted and credible source of information.
These websites have high domain authority, and that authority is passed along to your site through the link, a concept known as “link juice.”
This boost in authority can significantly improve your search engine rankings.
Relevance
When a journalist covers your story, the link is placed within the context of relevant, valuable content.
This contextual relevance is another important factor for search engines, indicating that the link is not only authoritative but also genuinely related to your industry and product.
Traffic
Established publications have a large and engaged readership.
A link from one of these sites can drive a significant amount of targeted referral traffic to your website, bringing potential customers who are genuinely interested in what you offer.
This is far more valuable than traffic from a low quality link that may not even be relevant to your business.
Brand Building
Being featured in reputable publications enhances your brand’s credibility and reputation.
It positions you as an expert in your field and builds trust with potential customers.
This positive brand association is an indirect but powerful benefit of digital PR that contributes to long-term success.
How to Do Digital PR Outreach
Now, let’s take a closer look at how you can actually run a digital PR campaign and get in touch with journalists.
For this, we’re going to be using our own tool, Respona.
It comes with a handy journalist outreach campaign template pre-designed just for this.
In the first field, enter keywords related to your story.
For example, if you’re pitching a story about a new AI-powered marketing tool, you might enter keywords like “AI marketing,” “marketing automation,” “artificial intelligence,” etc.
Be specific!
Next, provide a brief but descriptive summary of your story.
This helps Respona identify journalists who have written about similar topics in the past. Be clear and concise.
The date range field allows you to filter for recent articles.
We recommend keeping it on the default setting to automatically find the latest and most relevant articles.
This increases the chances of your pitch being timely and relevant.
Next, specify the desired location and language for the publications you’re targeting. This is crucial for reaching the right audience.
Use the last field if you’re looking to limit your search to specific publications, such as TechCrunch, Forbes, or other industry-specific outlets.
This is useful if you have a dream list of publications you want to target.
Once you’ve filled in the fields, click “Use this template.”.
Prepare Your Media Pitch
Before you start reaching out to journalists, you need to craft a compelling media pitch.
This is a concise and persuasive summary of your story, highlighting why it’s newsworthy and relevant to the journalist’s audience.
It should include:
- A strong headline: Grab the journalist’s attention with a clear and concise headline that summarizes your story’s main point.
- Key information: Briefly explain what your story is about, including the who, what, when, where, and why.
- Value proposition: Clearly articulate why the journalist and their audience should care about your story. What’s the benefit? Is it a new trend, a groundbreaking innovation, or a solution to a common problem?
- Call to action: Make it clear what you want from the journalist. Are you offering an exclusive interview? Are you providing access to data or research?
Find Journalists
The next step of PR link building is to find relevant journalists for your story.
Respona automates this process by offering a search engine that’s capable of running several searches at the same time, and automatically adding relevant results into your campaign.
It also allows you to set additional SEO filters to only target authoritative websites that fit your criteria.
Next, it also finds the contact information of your journalists completely on auto-pilot.
This screen is also where you can provide instructions for AI personalizations (if you have used any) but since PR outreach requires a manual approach, let’s skip this step.
The last option you can toggle before running the search is to make it recurring.
Meaning, Respona will automatically re-run your campaign at a selected time interval and add any fresh opportunities that may have popped up directly to your campaign.
Once you run the automation, results will start popping up on the screen as soon as they are found.
When ready, move on to the final step – review & launch.
Review & Launch
This is where you can review your emails before sending.
This includes regular variables like “first_name”, AI personalizations, and manual edits where necessary.
In addition to email addresses, Respona also finds the LinkedIn profiles of your target journalists.
We highly recommend sending them a connection request to put a face to your outreach and increase the chances of getting a reply.
That’s it!
Once the campaign is launched, all you have to do is keep an eye out for replies with Respona’s shared inbox – it consolidates all of your email accounts into a single, user-friendly interface.
Link building cheat sheet
Now Over to You
In conclusion, digital PR is an extremely powerful way to build quality backlinks and generate traction for your business.
To get media coverage, you need to:
- Have an interesting story (such as a unique solution to a problem)
- Find journalists that have covered similar stories
- Reach out to them with a personalized pitch
Need help getting in touch with journalists and growing your backlink profile?
Don’t hesitate to start your 14-day free trial with Respona to see it in action.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How much does digital PR cost?
The cost of digital PR can vary widely depending on several factors, including whether you hire an agency, use PR software, or handle it in-house.
Agency fees can range from a few thousand dollars per month to tens of thousands, while PR software subscriptions typically cost a few hundred dollars monthly.
In-house efforts require dedicated time and resources, which also have associated costs.
How long does it take to see results from digital PR?
Digital PR is not a quick fix.
It’s a long-term strategy that requires consistent effort and patience.
Results can vary, but it’s often several months before you start seeing significant increases in media coverage, high quality backlinks, and website traffic.
Building relationships with journalists and earning media coverage takes time.
How do I measure the success of my digital PR efforts?
Key metrics for measuring digital PR tactic success include: number of media mentions, quality and quantity of authoritative backlinks earned, website traffic from referral sources, social media engagement, and changes in brand awareness and sentiment.
Tracking these metrics helps you assess the effectiveness of your campaigns and make adjustments as needed.
What kind of stories are most likely to get media coverage?
Journalists are looking for newsworthy stories that are relevant to their audience.
This could include: new product launches, funding announcements, industry trends, groundbreaking research, data-driven insights, and stories with a human interest angle.
The key is to identify what makes your story unique and compelling.
Do I need to have a big budget to do online PR?
No, you don’t need a huge budget to run an effective digital PR campaign.
While large companies may invest heavily in PR agencies and campaigns, smaller businesses can achieve great results with a more focused and resourceful approach.
Utilizing free or low-cost PR tools, leveraging existing relationships, and content marketing can all contribute to successful digital PR on a budget.
