Previously, working in traditional print media, I saw digital only as a supplement,” admits Jess the Champion, “but after I got the position of PR consultant, everything changed.
At the time, my goals were brand recognition and changing the perception of the audience. Soon there was another one: getting links. And, as many of you know, it’s not easy to get a link. Now, after eight months of work, I think it’s time to share my knowledge.
There are several proven methods for getting PR links, for example, reposting articles. But today I want to talk about another approach, which – with good investment and quality implementation – will also bring you quality links from reputable news sites. In addition, it is an organic part of the global marketing strategy of the company.
There are no quick and easy solutions. Even before “search” got into my focus, I always believed in integrated communications. Linkbuilding is just one part of a multifaceted approach. And I believe that links are the result of a well-run PR campaign. And for any marketing campaign you should use several advertising channels at once.
Find the article
If you want to be in the media, you need to find a story. No one will read your last annual report on The New York Times home page.
Promotion of the site with articles
There are eight criteria that make information valuable for printing:
Relevance;
The influence of the source;
Brand awareness;
Proximity of the topic;
oddity;
Conflict;
uniqueness of the material;
zest.
Sometimes you will have information that already meets these criteria. Perhaps on the eve of the New Year holidays you wrote an article about special gifts – and it will work. But very often our clients have nothing that could interest the newsrooms. In this case, it is necessary to come up with a material.
create history
There are several ways to write an article using PR tricks (usually very expensive). The cheapest and most reliable way to create a news story is through research.
For example, for one of our clients we have recently done a similar job. Having received the task only a few weeks ago, we have already achieved some results:
An article on The Telegraph website containing two links;
The Guardian’s review, which also includes two links;
30+ references in the regional media;
two appearances on the radio;
Mention on national television.
You have no doubt noticed that the results are mentioned here, which do not contain references, but I am not tired of repeating that references are just a symptom of good PR. Your name is the most important thing.
conduct research
Once you have formulated the research topic and defined the quality criteria, you should develop questions that will help you stay on track. Here are some general rules for conducting reliable PR research:
Start with the story and work in the opposite direction. Even before you start, determine the main vector – always think about the story you want to tell. Each question should be directly related to this story, regardless of whether you get the desired result or not. This is a necessary condition for the answers to become interesting data.
Choose a reputable marketing research agency. You will get a much better effect from the surveys if the data comes from reliable sources. The agency will also help you to collect your questions and make sure that you are on the right track.
Think about demographics. Research broad
of the public is a good thing, but sometimes a specific sample will enhance your story. If your client is a parenting website, why not launch a parent survey? Remember: if you work with a large demographic, you should interview at least 2000 people. In small niches, as a rule, thousands are enough.
Split the demographics. Dividing respondents into subcategories will give you another incentive to immerse yourself in history. Most research companies will do this by age, gender and region, which is the standard, but for an additional fee you can get more interesting segmentation.
Ask as many questions as you can. The minimum required is 10 questions. Along with the demographic divide, this will give you enough data to write an exciting story with lots of interesting nuances. The more details you can add to the story, the more reposting you get. Please visit www.lubbockcw.com for more info.
