PR is often misunderstood by individuals and businesses, who may not fully grasp the benefits of engaging in public relations activities. Traditionally, public relations has focused on promoting products, services, brands, or businesses through mass communication methods like newspapers and magazines. Nowadays, many refer to ‘Digital PR,’ which also aims to establish a presence but does so through online channels. The problem is that the distinction between ‘traditional’ and ‘digital’ PR has become so blurred that they are essentially the same now.
Sadly, there are still some ‘traditional’ PR agencies and professionals who refuse to see or try to understand that there is no such thing as ‘traditional’ or ‘digital PR’; there is only ‘PR’. However, all newspapers have websites, and some have even gone digital-only, shutting down their print operations completely. These websites often attract a larger audience than the physical newspapers, with reports indicating that online readership can be between 100% and 320% higher than print copies.
So what are the benefits of PR?
- Build Brand Awareness
Arguably the primary objective of PR is to build awareness of your brand with your audience through media channels which they are engaged with. For example, this means targeting relevant industry publications read by the audience or building your profile in the local area by contributing to regional publications.
- Build a relationship with your audience
Through building awareness of your brand, you will also find the opportunity to build a relationship with your audience. This relationship between a brand and its audience is key to a brand’s success – after all, people buy from people, right? The more ‘human’ or in-touch and relatable the brand is to its audience, the better the relationship will be. In addition to this, Social Media has further enhanced the opportunity for brands to communicate and build relationships with their potential customer base.
- Increase Sales
Once your audience has an awareness of your brand and has built a relationship with it, the easier it is to sell to them, and so you are likely to be able to see an increase in sales volume. Of course, this is very much part of a long-term strategy, so don’t expect that just because you have had your brand featured in a national newspaper yesterday that sales will double today!
- Website Backlinks & Improved Search Rankings
These two aspects go hand in hand with each other, as one of the most important ranking factors is the acquisition of backlinks from credible, authoritative and relevant sources. Undertaking PR activity, such as contributing to industry-specific publications, and getting a link back to your website from them will have a positive effect on your web rankings, as Google’s algorithms will see the publication as a ‘trustworthy’ source. This is where many ‘traditional’ PR agencies miss a trick, as they fail to try and secure a link back to their clients’ website, as they are not digital marketing specialists, and therefore underestimate the value of the link.
- Easily Measurable
One of the positives of PR is that it is easily measurable. Using PR-tracking tools such as Precise (Kantar Media), or even Google Alerts, you will be able to track when and where your brand is mentioned. Similarly, if the source has included a link back to your website, this will appear in your backlink profile, which can be analysed through Majestic or Ahrefs.
Although an obvious correlation between PR and return on investment may not immediately be apparent, it can significantly increase brand awareness with your prospective customer base, and providing that your audience journey is clear, you may find that this converts into more customers.
So, there are multiple benefits to undertaking PR activity, however it is something which shouldn’t be a stand-alone strategy. Instead, it is something which compliments your overall marketing strategy, and goes hand in hand with SEO and social media.