the digital age of pr

THE DIGITAL AGE OF PR

1.Digital PR

• Digital PR Defined• The 3 Components • The Value

What is Digital PR?

1. Content Marketing2. Social Media3. SEO

A combination of traditional PR, with the following:

The 3 Components of Digital PR

CONTENT MARKETING

Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience – and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action. [1]

SOCIAL MEDIA

Forms of electronic communication (as web sites for social networking and micro-blogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (as videos) [2]

SEO

Search Engine Optimization is the process of maximizing the number of visitors to a particular website by ensuring that the site appears high on the list of results returned by a search engine. [3]

[1] Content Marketing Institute[2] Merriam-Webster [3] Oxford Dictionary

The Value of Digital PRDigital PR allows for businesses to transform rigid news into real time fluid conversations

News can be spread further, faster, and more directly – allowing companies and organizations to maximize news in a new way

Digital PR facilitates the shift from traditional media outlets to the digital sphere

Traditional PR lacks the valuable component of sharing

Developing a successful content marketing strategy and implementing it on a digital/social medium allows businesses to reach larger, more targeted audiencesNumber of users on social media sites:

FACEBOOK: 1 BILLION

TWITTER: 974 MILLION

LINKEDIN: 396 MILLION

2.Content Marketing

• The Marketers• The Buyers

““Content isn’t king. It’s the

kingdom!”

- Rachel Balik, Sr. Manager Content Marketing, Demand Base

– Lee Odden, CEO Toprank Online Marketing

“Content is the virtual salesperson for the long B2B buying cycle”

91% of B2B marketers use content marketing [1]

55%

69%

of the most effective B2B marketers have a documented content marketing strategy[2]54% of the most effective B2B marketers have a dedicated content marketing group in their organization[3]

83% of B2B marketers use use content marketing for lead generation [4]

81%of businesses have reported their blog as useful or critical to B2B lead generation[5]

[1] Content Marketing Institute [2] Content Marketing Institute [3] Content Marketing Institute [4] Content Marketing Institute [5] Nurture HQ[6] Content Marketing Institute

[7] Content Marketing Institute

of B2B marketers plan to increase content marketing spend in the next year[6]70

% of B2B marketers are creating more content than they did one year ago [7]

82% of B2B buyers report that the winning vendor’s content had a “significant impact” on their buying decision[1]

80%

Of B2B buyers strongly agree that B2B vendors should curb the sales messages to improve the quality of their content[2]

68% Of business decision makers prefer to get company information in a series of articles vs. an advertisement[3]

[1] DemandGen Report [2] DemandGen Report[3] Roper Public Affairs

B2B buyers ranked the importance of content typeswhen visiting a vendor’s website to conduct research:

1. Search & navigation tools2. Easy access to pricing & competitive information3. Easy access to content

4. Vendor focused content

5. Relevance of their website to industry6. Thought leadership content

3.Social Media

• The Numbers• The Platforms

““Content is fire, social media is

gasoline”

– Jay Baer, President, Convince & Convert

85% of B2B buyers believe companies should present information via social networks [1]

73%

54%

of B2B marketers believe social media is an effective marketing channel[2]79% of B2B marketers said they have generated leads from social media[3]

78% of B2B marketers said they saw increased traffic with as little as 6 hours a week invested in social media marketing [4]87%of B2B marketers are using social media to distribute content[5]

[1] Earnest Agency [2] Omobono Business Solutions [3] Whittington Consulting [4] Content Marketing Institute [5] Content Marketing Institute [6] DemandGen Report

[7] DemandGen Report

of B2B buyers said they use social media to browse existing discussions to learn more about the topic[6]53

% of B2B buyers said they use social media to connect directly with potential vendors[7]

Which social media channels had the biggest impact on the research process?

LinkedIn

Blogs

YouTube

Facebook

Google+

[1] DemandGen Report

*According to B2B buyers when surveyed*

61%61%

58%

54%

50%

46%

4.SEO

• The Numbers• Translation

““The objective is not to make your

links appear natural; the objective is that your links are natural ”

– Matt Cutts, Former Head of Webspam Google

81% of B2B purchase cycles start with web search[1]

53%

57%

of B2B buyers say when they are ready to buy, “they’ll find you”[2]90% of B2B marketers say SEO has the biggest impact on lead generation[3]

60% of companies report that their SEO and content strategy are integrated[4]

95%of marketers use search engine marketing for inducing loyalty among their existing customers [5]

[1] Earnest Agency[2] Earnest Agency [3] NewsCred[4] Digital Marketing Report [5] Regalix [6] NewsCred

[7] Social Fresh

of B2B marketers rank content creation as the single most effective SEO tactic [6]33

% of clicks from organic search results go to the first page on Google[7]

5.Digital for B2B

• The Numbers• Translation

52% of B2B buyers expect half of their purchases to be made online by 2018 [1]

74%

67%

of B2B buyers search for product/vendor information on social media[2]55% of B2B companies that blog generate more leads per month than those that do not blog[3]

94% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn to distribute content[4]

54%of B2B respondents said they have generated leads fromsocial media [5]

[1] The Future of Commerce[2] MediaBistro [3] Hubspot[4] Content Marketing

Institute [5] Adobe Insights [6] Content Marketing Institute[7] Inside View

of B2B marketing companies use Twitter to distribute content[6]

B2B marketers who use twitter generate 2X as many leads as those who do not[7]

What the numbers really meanIn the B2B market PR is experiencing a fundamental shift – more of the B2B process is becoming digitized or digitally focusedThe Digital Space is becoming a preferred information source for buyersIndustry conversations are no longer only being held at events, board meetings, and such – they are taking place on social media

NO MORE SILOSPR can no longer operate in silosA successful PR strategy is a mix of both traditional and digitalThere are currently too many various ways to absorb and find information that clinging to only traditional forms of media will put businesses at a significant disadvantage

TRENDSThe majority of B2B buyers, and marketers have implemented some component of digital PR into their strategyB2B companies that are using some form of Digital PR are generating more leads

THE BOTTOM LINE: TRADITIONAL PR HAS EVOLVED

Traditional PR…is slowly becoming antiquated. Businesses now need a comprehensive approach to infiltrate and have an influence in the digital sphere.

Digital PRA comprehensive approach.

Thanks!Any questions?You can find me at:Annelise.campbell@gmail.comwww.linkedin.com/in/annelisecampbell