Is SEO hogging the Online PR Agenda? Have PR firms lost out? Is it too late?

The fact is the Seach Engine Marketers got there first and routinely offer ‘Online PR’ as an added service including the production of online press releases. Ouch! They have managed to infiltrate the editorial agenda for company websites when this should really be in the PR remit. But the fact remains – the PR skillsets were not there in the first instance – at the right time.
 
Many clients just want their PR company to generate media coverage for them, setting up speaking engagements, devise sponsorships, create signed articles, organise press briefings, write press and brochure material.  They don’t see PR as a lead generator and are quite happy, thank you very much, to leave that to their web designer. Or their online advertising buyer.
 
The internet has provided the PR industry with one of the most powerful communications tolls of all. Blogs, in particular, offer the quickest route to push news and information. So if PR is about two way communication and feedback then surely an online communications strategy needs to be part of any meaningful PR campaign today? If PR is about influencing opinion through the generation of news and information then it’s got to embrace online communications.

So where does offline PR and online PR cross over? Is it simply about search? Online PR is offered by many digital marketing agencies as a service. Usually linked to search engine marketing it is primarily about generating back links to increase traffic to a site. It’s all numbers. Or is it? Can the SEO
·         Influence attitudes?
·         Improve a company’s reputation?
·         Deliver ‘sticky’ content?
·         Create a positive image about a company through thought leadership?
·         Manage a media crisis that spills over online?

Traditional PR V Online PR

Traditional PR still plays a vital role in marketing communications. In the past a company hired a PR firm, an advertising agency, a sales promotions company and, in many cases, a media buyer to help build the brand. They were meant to all work off each other strategically – but in reality they didn’t.  The internet has put paid to that approach.
 
PR today must work hand in hand with Search to achieve brand visibility online. And offline PR must develop an online version of tactics if they are to do their job properly.

In the list of objectives set out in any PR plan for any client you must now include “attract online traffic to the company’s website” while target markets must now include “search engines”.
 

What’s the difference? Here are two examples
 
Offline: Press Releases (written with the print and broadcast media in mind)
Online:  Online Press Releases  are ‘key word’ optimised with search engines in mind. They need to be delivered in a content rich and creatuve way to attract immediate interest.  And they can get you listed in the top ten results on search engines and news websites. Getting your press release onto news websites not only helps you reach thousands of internet users daily but the can create quality inbound links to your client’s website

Offline: Signed articles i.e. where CEO of a company writes an opinion piece about their industry as a whole – objective? To position the company as an expert in its field.
 
Online PR version:   white papers – designed to position the company spokesperson as a thought leader, providing insight into an issue of concern to his/her target audience. It creates, instant affinity, with the reader by identifying with the readers concerns and providing a solution.
Either way Online PR is about generating trust, creating interest, engaging you’re your key target audiences as well as generating high quality web traffic. And the good news – it’s tangible. It can deliver a positive, demonstrable result that can be measured easily (via a web analytics package).

Coming up soon…. Samples of Online PR at Work