How Can Online PR Distribution Services Boost Your Brand Outreach?

Once offline tactics, PR or public distribution services have also moved online. In tune with the irrepressible and rapid transformation in the ways and tactics of achieving business success, online PR distribution services have emerged as a major digital marketing technique used by any business to increase its online presence. Not sure what it is and how it benefits your business? We clear all confusions here as we walk you through what is an online press release, its types, how it helps your business, and a few other insights into it. Stay hooked! 

What is Digital PR? 

Much like the traditional PR, digital PR is a strategy that most businesses adopt to enhance their brand’s online presence and visibility. Emerging as one of the most cost-effective marketing approaches for any kind of business, it is even combined craftily with SEO and social media marketing to emerge as a major communication channel.  

An online press release is an art that involves many strategies. Given its power and plethora of benefits to the business; most businesses today hire online PR distribution services from reputed companies like us to maximize its benefits. 

Traditional PR vs. Digital PR  

We are used to traditional PR newswire. Hence, it’s natural that you might be wondering what it is and how does it differ from the traditional PR. Here, we summarize a few of the key differences.  

Objectives and way of approach  

A traditional PR is mostly offline visibility centric and would typically focus on print-based publications, PR newswire services, radio, television, etc. It has a minimal and fairly one-way interaction. In contrast, digital PR offers a more subtle message and rarely works solo. It has become a part of the whole marketing strategy and encompasses many things like SEO, inbound marketing, content marketing, etc.  

From this, we can easily infer that while both types of PR share the same goals like building brand awareness, demonstrate expertise and engage with the audience, the path of goal delivery and achievement is sharply different.  

Channels and tools 

As already discussed, the traditional PR relies more on print publications, radio, television, and general press. In contrast to it, digital PR has a wider scope of channels available. The online PR news can be published on websites, blogs, social media platforms, online news and video portals, influencer campaigns, etc.  

Likewise, the tools used in both types of PR activities also vary. Unlike just the print and broadcast medium used by the traditional PR, digital PR uses a myriad of tools like SEO software, social media solutions, marketing automation services, website analysis including Google Analytics, etc.  

Audience Interaction 

The traditional PR tends to be a one-way interaction as far as audience interaction is concerned. You merely share your content with the audience in a limited way. In contrast, the online press release offers a much wider scope of audience interaction. Using it on blog posts, social media, etc. You give your audience a voice to interact with the press release. Functionalities such as ‘like’ and ‘share’ give you a chance to grow your audience outreach.  

Measuring the impact of PR campaigns 

This is an area where the difference between the two types of PR campaigns is notably distinct. The best way to measure a traditional PR is by measuring is costs via something called AVE or Advertising Value Equivalent. Here the column inches of an article are measured and space worth is calculated based on the publications’ advertising rate card. This method does not provide any tangible way to measure the campaign’s success or cost-effectiveness.  

In contrast, the online PR distribution services show and offer you extremely precise metrics of measuring your Return on Investment. They can be easily tracked, monitored, and finally measured to give you the exact value of your campaign.  

All these make it evident that the scope and benefits of online PR news are far more than the traditional ones. 

Ways Digital PR can Benefit Your Brand  

The importance of public relations never diminishes when it comes to building a brand. You might feel advertising as the best tool for it but it does not give the depth and personality to your brand the way a PR does. The online press release distribution is fast emerging as one of the most effective tools to build and boost your brand’s outreach. Not certain? Check out the various ways online PR distribution services can benefit your brand.  

Improved Search Rankings  

The entire endeavor of online PR release is to be in front of the audience and hang out with them. For it, you publish useful and high-quality content on high authority websites and even earn backlinks to your website. This results in improving your website traffic and search engines like Google beginning to rank your page higher on their results pages.  

Being of high-quality, the content also has a high chance of being shared on social media. Providing your social sites is managed well and interactions like shares, likes, comments, etc. are encouraged; you will have a wider reach. It would prompt more visitors to your site and you would end up with an improved page ranking score. 

Procuring high authority and relevant links from authority websites  

One of the main aims of online PR distribution services is to get your business published in online publications that write about your local area. It could be your local newspaper sites, blogs from local bloggers, etc. It gives you a local exposure as you gain backlinks from them.  

Yet another but a common way of press release distribution is by gaining high-quality backlinks from websites and other high authority publications. These links are important as they drive the click-through traffic and help new customers land on your page. It helps you gain more audience to add to your marketing list and possible sales in the future.  

Establish you as an authority of your niche  

We need not iterate that content is king. It shows your expertise in your niche and demonstrates thought leadership. The online press release distribution is craftily done by publishing on various sites. It gradually helps you build your reputation.  

A simple Google Search shows your business featured in credible publications. It helps the customers view your brand as active and reputable. You start being viewed as a credible source of information. If you are mingling it with stories and building a narrative for them to follow, it gives a reputation that exceeds everyday messages. You are able to convey innovative and forward-thinking ideas that help build your authority in your niche.  

Influence consumer’s purchasing decision by conveying key messages and USP’s 

The digital medium allows the online PR distribution services to push out PR newswire as integrated campaigns at a much lower cost than any other medium like a television advertisement. They help create a relationship between you and your customers and reinforce a one-to-one bond. The consumers respond to the human touch that you manage to create. Because of this engagement, your customers are instinctively pushed into the sales funnel and your brand gets in a position of authority to influence their purchasing decision.  

Generate sales and lead  

If you are using the right strategy for online press release distribution, your brand is exposed more frequently in front of your target audience. This will make more people visit your website and consequently, generate more sales and leads for your business.  

Boost traffic website  

The audience is the key to any digital marketing endeavors. PR helps you to reach your target customers and send across the message that resonates with them. This engagement naturally leads to more traffic to your website. You can easily nurture and build upon them to push them further into the sales funnel and entice brand loyalty from them. 

Improves your brand image and trustworthiness  

If you are strategizing and promoting online PR news in the right way, it means that your target customers are hearing more from you. They are also listening to good things about your brand including positive reviews. Consequently, you see an increased trust in your brand and an improvement in its image.  

Re-purpose your existing content 

A digital PR campaign and content marketing go hand in hand. Your brand’s reputation and authority grow as more content of your business are shared and found. Moreover, you are able to use existing content by converting it in a different form and using it on a different platform for repurposing. For instance, you can add or delete content to an existing blog and repurpose it into several types of content like infographics, guest posts, an article for a trade publication or local newspaper, short video, etc.  

It not only adds value to your content but also reinforces your voice as an authority. 

Amplify your reach  

You would agree with me how tough it is to reach new target customers and make an impression on their minds. The online press release can be your ultimate tool here. Through ways like content syndication, sponsored content, guest blog, paid social posts, etc. You are able to expose your content to masses and even those who are unaware of your business. With this wider outreach, you catch the attention of a new audience and attract them to visit your website. You can effortlessly reach a new and relevant audience beyond your brand’s outreach.  

It also helps you reach the right people like the influencers, bloggers, journalists, etc. Building relationships with them serve as the launchpad to amplify your content.  

Crisis management 

Any business can face a crisis  at any point in time which can severely cause a dent in your brand’s image. But in such a situation, an online press release can salvage the situation. Its initiatives can improve the perception amongst various stakeholders, audiences, and social communities and salvage the situation.  

Drive engagement on social media and open up conversations 

One of the biggest assets of social media is to engage with people and build relationships. Thanks to the ever-changing digital landscape, PR and social media can fuse to yield enormous benefits to your organization. Social media allows your brand to communicate with your audience in a relaxed and conversational tone. Moreover, it gives you an instant response.  

Thus, social media amplifies your PR efforts by leaps and bounds by opening conversations and driving more engagement on them.  

Gives you a measurable index 

We have already spoken about how digital PR differs in this aspect markedly from the traditional ones. The digital mode of interaction allows you to measure almost every aspect of your interaction. Various tools like Google Analytics, Facebook analytics, etc. help you infer the Digital PR ROI. You can also track various other parameters like the number of views, number of click links, conversion rate, etc.  

Given the above benefits, it would indeed be a shame if we are not reaping full benefits of it by hiring credible online PR distribution services like us.  

Different Types of Online PR That Yields Results  

Now that we have understood the importance of press release distribution, let us dive into the various types of press releases. Every business and everyone in the business, from customers to shareholders, clients, stakeholders, etc.; all have an opinion. There cannot be one-type-fit-all.  

Different types of press releases will chyme with different people. Hence, before we get the brain working on writing the press release; let us understand the different types of online PR news that are likely to yield you the best results for your business.  

• General news 

It is the most common type of PR used by most companies. The idea behind this type of PR is to generate the traditional type of coverage in both online and offline media. It is often general news meant to keep your business name circulating in the media. The trick behind this type of PR newswire is to make it as interesting as possible so that visitors get intrigued and visit your website.  

• New launch announcement  

This type of PR news is used best when you have started any new division or new business and want to advertise about it. The trick here lies in making the online PR newswire mentioning details of what you are announcing and why it is newsworthy. The timing of this type of PR is extremely important and credible online PR distribution services like us have mastered this art.  

• Product press release  

Such is the power of this type of online press release that even mega-brands like Apple, Microsoft, etc. use it unabashedly on various blogs, forums, and podcasts to announce the launch of a new product or upgrade.  

This type of PR news wire not only announces a new product or upgrade but also describes and promotes the product in detail. It also highlights any special recognition, accolades, or awards that the product might have brought to the company. You add in as many details as possible. 

Revealing information like how the product adds to your current line-up or how it re-invents a category or any other special features. This catches the attention of the customers, makes them visit your website, and make purchase decisions.  

As the hype about the new product does not last forever, timing becomes crucial here. Ideally, the press release should be promoted a few days earlier to the product launch.  

• Event Hosting press release 

This type of press release distribution is used whenever your business is hosting, attending, or even sponsoring any event. The intention is to generate hype and invite the media to cover the event. This type of online press release is different.  

In such press releases, you need to be specific and direct about the ‘what, when, and where’ information about the event and not bury them within the story. List, bullet points, or an outline lend more clarity to such a news piece.  

Such news releases go a long way in making the event a success.  

• New hire press release  

This type of press release is used to announce the new hires, typically in important and high-level positions of the company. As a general rule, it contains extensive biographical information and a photograph of a person. Such news helps build credibility and the trustworthiness of your company.  

It would only work if the person you are hiring is newsworthy and can add great value to your brand.  

• Expert position press release 

This type of online press release is much like the previous one. It establishes a brand’s or an individual’s credibility in their field of expertise. The main purpose behind such PR is to place that person in front of the media as the point of contact in the future. 

Most often such PR not only includes the details of the person’s accomplishments but also a kind of third-party verification of expertise.  

• Book press release  

As evident, it announces the launch of a new book.  here, you write the summary statement of the book in the PR and even its benefit to the readers. You can also add an attention-grabbing book-review comment from a celebrity or an influencer. A high-resolution image of the book and links to places from where you can buy it completes the PR.  

To make it grab attention further, you can even add a paragraph about the author and why is that person credible and newsworthy.  

• Rebranding press release  

It is not uncommon for businesses to rebrand themselves. They change their appearance, adopt a new logo, and other such things but remain true to their core values. The rebranding press release is used to announce and define your new brand story.  

The key points covered in such a rebranding PR release is the reason to rebrand, the improvement it will bring, the impact of it on customers, and the overall vision moving forward.  

Such a move is highly critical for a brand as it shows their evolution for the better and wins customer’s trust and loyalty. The press release distribution of such news should be done a few days before the launch to gain maximum traction. 

• Partnership Announcement PR  

Another common move is merger or alliances with other companies for mutual growth and profitability. The agenda behind such a press release is to tell the world about the reasons behind the partnership and a generalized summary. One need not give other details.

You do add information like what does the partnership entail, how will it impact both companies, possible outcomes, etc. The care that you need to heed to is to release a riveting press release that grabs attention.  

• New Business PR  

The launch of a new business or venture is definitely newsworthy. Online PR release of it not only highlights the edge over your competitors but also convinces your audience of its benefits. The online PR news must include all details like who, what, when, why, where, etc. Ideally, it must also contain your company’s hyperlink so that anybody can know more about it. It helps grab all the mileage you can get from that business venture.  

• Award press release 

Despite industry rewards being common, very few advertise and capitalize on it. PR helps to advertise and inform others of your brand’s achievements and accolades. It helps you establish yourself as an industry leader.  

In this type of PR, you must be objective and must not be overly promotional or emotional. You must highlight your business achievement and discuss the award exclusively from the business perspective.  

• Charitable initiative press release 

A charity by your business is an excellent way that you care for your society and country and not just about profits. Charitable initiatives not only give an insight into your brand’s culture but also add plenty of feel-good factors to your brand. 

Like the award PR, it should not be over-promotional. It should talk about the work being done and rally others to join the cause. Quantitative information like how many people benefitted, how much money earned, etc. and a quote from any company executive makes the PR more authentic and with a human touch.  

Strategies to Promote a PR Online  

Now that we are educated about various types of press releases, we move on to the next step i.e. how to promote a press release. Online PR distribution services will give you a strong strategy that eliminates all guesswork and keeps you focused and driven to reach your goals. Few PR strategies that never fails to yield results are: 

• Publishing articles online to get high-quality backlinks  

Nothing works better than user-rich content. Regular publishing of high-quality articles keeps your audience gripped. It also helps you earn backlinks from authority websites which increases your audience reach, improves credibility, and establishes your authority. The blog on your website must be updated with high-quality articles as often as possible.  

Interesting data, stories, stats, and angles are likely to grab the attention of journalists and influencers looking to enrich their editorial stories. Your brand would automatically get credited.  

• Create content, not ads 

A huge mistake that most businesses make while promoting their blogs and PR is direct advertising and hard sales pitch. But that method has long become outdated. Today, story-telling works with your customer getting engaged in it.  

The online PR distribution services understand what the audience wants and use several tools for it. From responsive brand series, user-specific blog content, to interactive social media campaigns, you offer a clever and customized way of engaging customers with your online content.  

• Building relationships with journalists and editors that earn backlinks 

One of the age-old aims of PR is to build a healthy relationship with the media. In this era of blog power, the importance of it has risen. Strong ties with journalists and editors give you an inroad to immediate media attention to your story.  

Moreover, most of these journalists and editors are connected with high authority sites. They play a pivotal role in earning you backlinks from these sites to yield you enormous benefits. 

• Give traditional press exclusivity  

Even in this digital age, traditional ways like trade journals, commuter papers, dailies, and broadcast shows still carry enough weight. The tools and the landscape have changed but the core of people getting motivated towards a brand, product, or service has not changed. Given that, you need to drool out an exclusive angle and gain a slot in a reputed morning show, an editorial with the traditional press, or even a covered feature in the local newspaper. It should never be brushed under the carpet.  

Another tip is to offer exclusivity. Getting your PR published in one outlet instead of several is likely to yield you better results.  

• Winning media attention via offering expert opinions and insight 

We have already highlighted the importance of the media. Gaining their attention is a daunting task. One way to get it is by offering your expert opinions and insight on various blogs, forums, and social media platforms. This helps establish your authority in your niche, get the media attention, and forge strong bonds with them. It also helps audience engagement, customer interaction, and more traffic to your website.  

• Publishing of guest posts 

We know one of the main purposes of the online press release is to get backlinks to your website. Publishing guest posts on high-authority websites help you achieve the goal effortlessly. It earns you backlinks, opens ways to engage with the audience, increases your brand awareness, helps you grab media attention, and several other benefits.  

• Issuing press releases  

It is a no brainer. Issuing attention-grabbing and newsworthy press releases keep your brand as a talking point and in the limelight. It does not allow your brand to fade out from the minds of anybody, be it media or customers. You must always find a reason to do a press release and keep yourself in the news.  

• Building relationships with micro-influencers and influencers 

Today, micro-influencers and influencers have started playing an important role in helping you increase your digital footprint. They are doing the bulk of brand promotion today. If you are able to forge strong bonds with them, they can play a pivotal role in promoting your brand to a targeted audience.  

• Guest appearances on popular industry podcasts 

The popularity of podcasts needs no explanation. Guest podcasting can yield an enormous benefit to your brand and business. It has become a major way to promote your brand’s press release. Guest podcasting boosts your SEO efforts, earns you backlinks, and drives referral traffic. You can start even from small podcasts and gradually strive for an appearance in a big podcast. 

• Communicate your why  

This is an era of watchdog technologies. Your brand is scrutinized with every consumer touchpoint. With no room to mask inefficiencies, your brand faces the challenge to establish and implement core values that are humane and relatable to the public. Your brand must establish the ‘why’ behind it and even imbed it into the company’s culture. Only then, your brand will appeal to the public.  

• Unlinked mentions  

We often make brand mentions and backlinks go hand in hand. But even unlinked mentions of your brand offer tremendous value. The people must keep talking about your brand and in a good context. It is an arena that few brands capitalize on.  

• Directory inclusions  

Today, SEO and PR strategy have interconnected. Using SEO and PR strategies together will get your brand directory inclusions that will boost your web page ranking. It means more traffic, conversions, and more sales.  

• Sharing and syndicating infographics 

A good content syndication strategy goes a long way in promoting your brand. Using both the paid and unpaid content syndication sites help you share your story, infographics, etc. It is an excellent avenue to repurpose your content.  

• Affiliate programs that pay commissions to bloggers for referring customers to your business  

Today, affiliate marketing is emerging as one of the top ways to monetize your blog. Likewise, you can use them to advertise your press release, mention your brand, and finally refer customers to your business. It can be one of your successful PR strategies.  

• Blogger outreach to earn backlinks and mentions on relevant blogs 

Today, the internet is filled with independent and small bloggers who are changing the face of business. Paying them and capitalizing on their outreach earns you valuable backlinks and keeps your business in the news.  

Some Emerging Trends in Online Press Release Distribution 

The digital era has made an online press release distribution, a vital marketing tool. With the ever-changing communication scenario, you must remain abreast of some of the emerging trends in online press release distribution to keep it worthwhile for your brand.  

• Importance of data with the interactive content explosion 

Today, the data has assumed a position of utmost importance. Given its role, every PR professional would need to interpret it to understand the audience, their behavior, etc. to craft interactive content and use it towards building the business reputation and profitability.  

Moreover, with augmented or virtual reality taking over, it’s only a matter of time before PR professionals would need to use this type of content.  

• Niche and specialized PR to be more popular  

The latest trends indicate that businesses now need to select online PR distribution services based on their specialization. Industry experience, in-depth knowledge of the local market, cultural aspects and its trends will be deciding factors for selection. They must be able to execute integrated campaigns like us that yields results.  

• Meaningful engagements for a deeper impact 

Regardless of how advanced the technology becomes, the importance of the human element in a PR newswire is not going to diminish. It implies that they need to maintain meaningful engagements in all forms of communications. Opinion pieces are expected to take center stage as business leaders will connect to the audience on a more personal level.  

• New types of content will rule  

With interactive content coming in vogue, new forms of content are getting devised to drive sales. Buyers would be seeing at least 3-4 types of content before buying.  Social media will continue to grow big as thought leadership will rise.  

• Importance of micro-influencers grows 

Influencers deploying transparency and authenticity on social media and other platforms will keep gaining importance. Partnerships with them will play a pivotal role in how to promote a press release most effectively.  

• Brand storytelling is big  

It is the brand stories that would be connecting your business to your audience in a powerful and convincing way. Stories will be connecting your business to the roots and turn your brand into a legacy. It will ignite customer loyalty and generate profitability.  

• PR and marketing integration 

The PR and marketing efforts will continue to be interwoven with one being incomplete without the other. PR will play an important role in all marketing campaigns.  

• Crisis communication and reputation management under the scanner 

Brands will be made accountable to their mission statements and consumer expectations. The company’s reputation will be entwined with its CEO’s reputation. Clever communications need to be carried out to prevent hashtag campaigns on social media and other media boycott campaigns. The communication must always strengthen the reputation and brand voice.  

Conclusion 

We hope by now, you are educated about the importance of crafting a good PR and promoting it in the best way using a reputable online PR distribution service. It is the PR professionals who know how to promote a press release. Once the ball is rolling, you can never have too much good press!