Internet Marketing Blog of KeChange

Five Ways A Public Relations Firm Can Utilize Internet Marketing

If you're a public relations firm, advances of Web 2.0 capabilities have changed the way some agencies communicate with their clients' audience. Internet Marketing is an emerging industry and, when paired with traditional PR techniques, can become an invaluable marketing strategy to heighten exposure and increase sales leads for clients.

Here are five ways to effectively leverage proven inbound marketing tactics in this digital age. Also, be sure to check-out our latest book "Put the ‘Public' Back into Public Relations," which elaborates and illustrates these points...

 

1.          Keep the content fresh
Often times a client will launch a website and think that the work is complete. But in reality, the maintenance on any corporate site has just begun once it's shot into the Web; the site should be ever-changing, and frequently updated with fresh content. One way to do this is to create a virtual newsroom that's replete with press releases, links and clips of favorable news coverage. Provide employee profiles that show the character working behind the corporate logo. Add an RSS feed widget of other news outlets sharing industry-specific information. The best part about a website is that you have complete control, so don't ever let it so stale. A public relations firm can work with a client and dictate the flow of positive information being published.

 

2.          Blog, frequently
The easiest way to prevent that aforementioned stale feeling is to get your clients to blog.  Work with your client to compile a small group of writers who can set aside a few hours each week to contribute valuable and engaging content. What are their reactions to the latest industry trends? How are they helping/giving back to the community? Let's learn more about the new C-level executive who has recently been hired. HubSpot allows users to integrate blogs and other social media tools into building a website. A blog is one of the best (and easiest) ways to provide fresh content that could ultimately draw reporters and trade journals to a website, asking for more information on (i.e) industry trends, and your client's outlook on the next quarter.  Bring the media to you, don't spend hours trying to track them down.

 

3.       Get noticed, be conscious of the search engine
Many sites will provide unique and engaging content, but they're not adequately equipped with a proper optimization service to actually get found. Work with your client's IT department and a good analytics program to ensure traffic is improving, and identify content that is ranking high in search engine results pages (SERPs), and which ones aren't. Determine keywords that can be peppered throughout the copy of each and every page. Make sure the information is directly related to your headlines and titles. Add metatags and metadescriptions. These proven methods will help your client's site rise to the top of search results.

 

4.       Quantify your performance
Often times, it can be difficult to truly quantify the performance of a public relations campaign. Aside from the amount of media coverage, there are few metrics that can measure the success of a communications plan. One way is the rate of converting online traffic into sales leads.  Build landing pages and place effective calls to action and value propositions that ask the visitor for contact information in exchange for valuable and original content only your client can provide.  Our eBook that expounds upon this blog post is a perfect example!  This will help create further interaction as part of our final tip: an e-mail campaign.

 

5.       Connect via e-mail
Once you have hooked a visitor to your website, continue to connect with this potential customer through an e-mail campaign. Despite all the advances that have been made in Internet Marketing, e-mail is still the #1 means of online communication. A targeted e-mail campaign bolsters the value of any website by enabling prospects to directly share content with each other. Web content management systems (web-based software used to build, launch, and maintain a website) often provide e-mail marketing tools to maintain this relationship with site visitors.  Blast out any relevant information just posted to your website. Alert your database about a webinar you'll be hosting next week, forward them a new eBook they may be interested in reading after already downloading some of your previous work. Most importantly, think of emailing not as a sales tool, but as a communication tool.  How exactly you incorporate it will vary depending on the client, but always be cognizant of creating a level of interaction between the website and its visitors over a sustained period of time.

The New Turf War: Social Media, SEO and PR

Three disciplines from 3 different eras in marketing history.  Public Relations (PR); the established cornerstone of the brick and mortar marketing services industry trying to extend its practice online,  Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – the practice of getting found online with 1.0 roots and 2.0’s new kid on the block, Social Media, touting “engagement” as the future of the Internet.

Let the turf war begin

The Internet Marketing pie can only be split so many ways as PR firms, SEO gurus and Social Media pros are going to constantly be infringing on each other’s turf as they compete for client marketing dollars.  Here’s the problem: all three will claim, with their services, they can increase traffic for your website by getting clients found by more people online.  The proposals will look a little different, but will generally shoot for the same results.

This goes for employees too.  I was recently in a meeting and when a social media specialist was asked what his job responsibility was he replied “anything to do with prospect and client engagement online”.  A red flag went up immediately.  Isn’t everything we do in Internet Marketing ultimately about engaging prospects and customers online?  The answer is yes; everyone practicing Internet Marketing from website management to e-mail marketing to link exchanging is going to claim some form of online engagement and interaction.  I have to agree; then social media may be “everything” as almost every online marketing discipline touches it.

After identifying a blog that talked badly about a company, a PR professional suggested a social media professional handles the blog response. 

Who will win the turf war?

There isn’t room anymore for specialists in Internet Marketing.  The practice is rapidly becoming generalized and service providers should be expected to handle a number of disciplines today claimed in pieces by SEO, Social Media and PR.  The real proposition clients are looking for are typically sales leads and clearly, a generalized Internet Marketing practitioner will have to deliver it.   I believe clients will demand it soon enough.