Innovation is one of the keys that helps businesses in different industries thrive. With the world becoming more and more fast-paced thanks to digitization, brands are working double-time and staying more agile to keep up with consumer demands. And in the new normal where everyone is being forced to transact online in the interest of physical health, digital innovation is more important than ever.
According to a 2020 Global Research from PR Newswire, 49% of businesses have become more agile in their planning strategies amidst the pandemic, and 42% acknowledge the quick pace of innovation. And based on the report from Global Web Index (GWI), 81.5% of global internet users searched online for a product or services to buy during this year.
Online is now the most effective channel for your brand to be discovered.
Related: Top 4 Media Changes During the Pandemic
Are your brand stories & content contributing to your online footprint?
https://www.instagram.com/p/COH4vmFnWgH/?igshid=v8trg2yr0ncf
Digital innovation should be a company-wide and holistic consideration. So how can your brand use digital innovation to stand out?
Start with digital PR.
The difference between traditional and digital PR
Traditional or digital, content remains king, and the right brand content in the right channel can help you communicate your brand to your customer buyer personas better.
Digital PR just helps you achieve that goal faster by increasing your brand’s presence and searchability across online channels that your audiences are most likely using. Game-changing benefits also include easy measurability, and a wider or more specific audience reach (depending on your campaign goals, of course).
We are in the “Age of Participation”
Effective digital PR comes in all forms of online content that have a solitary goal: to get peoples’ buy-in.
At the 27th National PR Congress, Marketing Communications Manager of TikTok Southeast Asia Imran Khan talked about how we are already living in the Age of Participation.
What is the age of participation? Think virality. FOMO culture. Social media challenges. In the new normal — or, more appropriately, ‘now normal’ — people look towards online channels for news and updates, the latest dish on their family member or neighbor, and the best entertainment that they can squeeze into a few hours after work. The use of messaging apps is at an all-time high at 90.7%, and innovative social media channels like TikTok and Kumu continue to get the buy-in of virtually every consumer who’s online.
We live in an age where everyone wants to participate: make a new vlog, take part in a new challenge, watch a new livestream, support an important cause, and jump on every bandwagon or trend.
It is not just about LIKES or SHARES, it is about JOIN
Mr. Imran Khan, Marketing Communications Manager of TikTok South East Asia (SEA)
When consumers see an active brand on social media posting the things they love in a language that speaks to them, and when they read or hear news on brands that make a significant impact on the causes they care about, they tend to trust that brand more. This is why it’s important to have a credible online footprint!
Good content + good PR that both generate participation and brand trust? Your brand can do it too. Read on!
How to get started with digital PR
1. Keep your SEO best practices current.
It’s no secret that Google constantly updates search engine systems to better cater to search behaviors, so don’t get stuck with SEO tactics from 5 years ago! Your efforts may either be futile , or worse, penalized by Google. Invest in learning about the most current SEO approaches.
And if you’re still not doing SEO for your website and blogs (in 2021?!), then your brand is missing out.
We’ll put it this way: any time your audience has a query, where do they turn to for instant answers? That’s right. Google, page 1. Be where your audience is and get on page 1.
2. Include a link to your website for online press releases to news sites
Having online news sites pick up your online press release is already a win in itself, but make your press releases more hardworking by having at least 1 inbound link for your website.
Aside from contributing referral traffic, this strategy leverages on news sites’ domain authority and credibility for improved Google page rankings for your site!
Pro tip: Invest in building a good relationship with your local media outfit so that they can make sure to include your website link in the final press release!
3. Invest in community management (beyond your Facebook page)
You might already have an in-house manager for your social media pages, but conversations about your services and products could very well be happening outside your owned pages. Gather those conversations in your brand’s very own community and maximize those insights.
Even without your own page, you may consider engaging with already-established Facebook groups and communities and other relevant channels like QUORA or REDDIT where you can link your content in comments or posts. Make sure your approach is authentic and personal, because people hate spam.
4. Engage with influencers
It is known that nano-, micro-, macro-, and mega-influencers thrive in their own niches and cultivate their own loyal audience, so engaging with the right influencers could mean reaching out to a specific audience better, in ways you couldn’t if you weren’t collaborating.
Social media influencers are not the only type of “influencers” you should be working with, either. Depending on your goals, there are bloggers, journalists, key opinion leaders, and websites that have the same target audience as you. They would know what content works best for their followers.
Moreover, having a solid outreach strategy is essential to get these influencers to post about you.
5. Promotional strategies
So you have the content, but where do you promote them to reach your audience? Are you doing enough promotions to get the results that you need? Paid promotions are great as they help reach a wider audience and produce near-instant results. But paid promotions alone are not sustainable. Organic promotions are as necessary. Think of it as a marathon, not a sprint. Consistently you build your credibility over time.
At the end of the day, you should have both organic and paid promotions, and they should compliment each other.
NGP ePR solutions for the changing times
There are more ways to increase your digital footprint, but digital PR or ePR is the best place to start.
NGP-IMC provides stand-out ePR solutions in the digital age, specially crafted to meet brand goals, expand your footprint, spur audience action, and ultimately connect your story. Check out our services!
Want to get started with ePR for your brand? Connect with us at ngpimc.com/contact-us/