Digital PR—Building Relationships, Not Links

Link building is still deemed to be an essential SEO technique, and many organizations have jumped on this bandwagon without understating all the moving parts. To get it right, it has to rely on the pillars of trust, meaning that relationships are the glue that holds marketing efforts together.

In fact, many experts claim you should turn your priorities around and realize that the best way to acquire meaningful links is to commit to conducting good PR. The best thing about this approach is that it often does not cost you anything other than time and energy.

In the Public’s Eye

Many enterprises go to great lengths to find the backlinks their competitors are using, harnessing the power of tools like Ahrefs in the process. While this may give you a head start, one cannot hope to outmatch their competitors in the arena of building links alone. 

So, the point is not that you should stop building a healthy network of links, but that you need to rethink your strategy and aim marketing campaigns at PR.

Links can be easily replicated, and others can use an intricate series of digital tools to take the proverbial wind out of your sails. To make this scenario less probable, you can engage in crafting distinguished content and promoting it with various outreach and advertising campaigns. 

Finally, there is one type of “free content” which is hard to copy, and it is called PR. Basically, there are no tools for tracking how you obtained connections under the umbrella of PR.

Bridging the Gaps

The beauty of it is that this practice enables you to reap many benefits in their own right.  First of all, it nurtures a continuous support for your company, and helps you convert numerous people into your brand ambassadors. 

Next, as this practice establishes mutually-beneficial bridges, the volume at the top of the funnel is increased. Also, companies that stay open and responsive to customers are able to gather valuable feedback. This supplies you with deeper insights into the problems, dilemmas and cravings of your specific consumer base.

This shifts the way in which marketing campaigns work, enhancing them with new data, connections and channels. Also, the efficiency of outreach activities is taken to the next level through higher response rates. 

Still, to ensure that the aforementioned blessings are bestowed upon you, understanding the different phases of the relationship building process is crucial. Those who are not confident in finding a way through this labyrinth should contact a creative advertising agency and see if a formal partnership can help them make any headway.

Search and Deploy

It all starts with prospecting—one must invest time in finding websites, blogs and companies for establishing lasting connections. Sites that cover similar topics as you do and actively participate in your niche’s digital community are a safe bet. 

One of the best tools out there is Google Alerts— the user sets up email or RSS alerts and is notified whenever keyword-related content talking takes place. There are various settings to be customized according to the type of keyword that’s desired and the rigor of the relationship building strategy at hand.

Now, the next one may seem obvious, but Google search is still a powerful, yet often underutilized tool. With the majority of Internet users present on this digital highway, the possibilities for forging relationships are endless. 

Some of the results you may recognize as competitors, but there will also be helpful results that come your way every now and again, too. If this does not satisfy your needs, turn to solutions such as Topsy. They are used to search for conversations on Google+ and Twitter where your article could be shared and talked about without you even realizing it.

Once targets are identified, one must figure out the best way to approach them. Email correspondence is still king, but many make the mistake of automating email engagement, depriving subscribers of any sort of human touch. 

What you should opt for is a highly personalized message with a catchy subject line and content that quickly grabs a reader’s attention. You want to appear as someone who has time, as well as something valuable to offer. Always be genuine in your PR activities, and use a distinctive voice to communicate any and all messages.

Winning on More Than One Front

Many marketers are slaves of links, amassing them like some sort of online gold rush is underway, while all this time, there was yet another “gold mine” waiting to be discovered.

Building relationships (not links) is what sets solid ground for enhancing your online presence, and helps you gain an edge over the competition. Get into the art of prospecting, find the best targets and send personal, eye-catching emails. Links will come as a natural byproduct of such diligence, and you will soon realize that you have a win-win scenario working for your benefit.

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Raul Harman is a B.Sc. in innovative entrepreneurship and has a lot to say about innovations in all aspects of digital technology and online marketing. While he's not enjoying football and great food, you can find him on Technivorz.com.

Why Your Customers Aren’t Always Right and What to Do About It

We are all familiar with the old cliché, “The customer is always right,” aren’t we? 

But what if they weren't? Seriously, think about that—what if a client’s choices while working with you, in this case, as a PR professional, turn out to actually hurt their business as well as your own? 

That doesn’t sound appetizing at all. 

Sometimes, as painful and awkward as it may be, it’s crucial for you to be completely honest with a client and tell him or her that the ideas and plans they’ve come up with aren’t going to work well.

Identify the Issue

Early last year, I decided to get my feet wet with some graphic design. Generally speaking, the field—though involving little writing and media maintenance—runs similarly to how a regular, run-of-the-mill PR shop would. 

Basically, I was working for a screen-printing and advertising store, designing signage for a handful of local businesses in Utah.

While there I had the opportunity to work with a variety of people from all sorts of professional backgrounds. This included college administrators, athletic trainers, maintenance workers, door-to-door salesmen and even families in need of simple signs and banners to welcome home returning relatives at the airport in Salt Lake City.

On one occasion in particular, the store had a client who owned an HVAC company. He needed a full vinyl wrap for one of his service trucks. Unbeknownst to us initially, working with this client turned out to be a long, frustrating process. 

In order to complete the job, I worked alongside the marketing guy my client had recently brought onboard to handle his marketing endeavors—just for the sake of this story, let’s call him Eric.

To be honest, Eric seemed fairly new to the world of marketing and wasn’t all that sure of himself. Obviously, this made working with him all the more difficult. 

On top of that, Eric’s managers felt they had to have the final say in everything. 

Seriously, what was the point of creating Eric’s position if he wasn’t even allowed to do his job? I thought about this constantly as the two of us worked together.

Know When to Step In

Together, Eric and I were able to come up with some awesome ideas. 

The downside? After hours of brainstorming, most of them were later tossed out because not everyone in our client’s camp could agree on what to do.

We had passed on some great designs, many of which would not only have made their business look spectacular, but would’ve also garnered a great deal of attention as employees cruised around town in their work vehicles.

This was frustrating, and I realized I had to step in and say something. 

At this point, Eric, his manager and the founder of the company were all hovering over my desk, providing me with suggestions as to how I should bombard the vehicle with a wide variety of images and textual tidbits.

The designs we were working on for the truck slowly, and I mean slowly—by that time, we were working on our eighth concept—began to decline in quality and appeal. 

It pained me to continue working on these lackluster designs. 

I couldn’t let these graphics be installed. Simply put, I genuinely cared about the client’s future success, and in that moment, I’d felt as though I hadn’t provided them with my best work.

“These designs aren’t going to work!” I belted out, interrupting one of them as he argued about how a graphic should be both sized and placed. 

Mercy, it felt relieving to get that off of my chest …

Be Honest, but Considerate

By far, this was the hardest part of the entire process. 

Sure, I made them aware of my disagreement, but I then had to tell them why I disagreed in a calm, respectable manner. It can be hard to tell someone they’re wrong—especially when they’re wholeheartedly convinced they’re right. 

However, everyone has a job to do, and we all have certain skills that make us unique and valuable. At that point, I knew what was going to work for their truck—what would make the company as a whole stand out and look professional.

I didn’t want to disrespect them in any way, and no one in my position should really ever have to. There are strategic ways to change someone’s opinion, and I decided to try a few of them on for size.

“These designs won’t look as solid as the earlier ones we developed,” I continued. “Let’s take a look at some of the previous designs, and maybe we can combine them with the best elements from a few of your favorites.” 

They seemed to be onboard for the idea, so we did just as I’d suggested. 

In little time at all, we were able to accurately pinpoint what they liked from some of my earlier concepts. After that, we put them together in a way that would look incredible once the final design was installed on the truck.

Always Use Transparency to Your Advantage

The three guys I was working with didn’t even notice that I’d verbally opposed them. 

Why? Well, because I did so in a manner that wasn’t all that confrontational. In short, this is how a successful public relations specialist or manager must deal with difficult clients. 

My story may have been that of a graphic designer, but the lesson applies just the same to a web developer, copywriter, editor or social media marketer. All clients have certain ideas about what they believe is best for their business. 

While many are willing to listen and are extremely excited about open collaboration, others can’t remove the blinders from their eyes long enough to see what’s really needed to succeed.

This is where you come in. 

Be confident in your abilities as a PR professional. The best PR people are not only transparent and honest, but also methodical and intentional. As a client, it can sting a bit to learn that the idea you’ve always had in your head was, in all actuality,  not a very good one.

Strategically breaking this news to a client as respectfully as possible will ensure that they stick around for the long haul and increase their trust in you. 

Let them know you care about their business and that you hear what they want, but that you’re also dead set on doing things in the best, most efficient manner. 

Needless to say, practicing public relations in this way will create stronger relationships with the people you work with and will assist them in being more successful.

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Rhett Ahlander studies Public Relations at Utah Valley University. He will graduate in April of this year with his bachelor’s degree and will begin a master’s program in Public Relations & Advertising this fall at DePaul University in Chicago. When Rhett isn’t studying, he enjoys writing, playing soccer and discovering awesome new eateries.