Gabriela Covay, a Digital PR expert, reveals her step-by-step process for landing over 30 links, including DR90 ones, in a digital PR campaign. They discuss executing successful campaigns, state-specific data, generating campaign ideas, survey-based campaigns, and the importance of follow-up in outreach to journalists. They also explore the challenges and advancements in digital PR, emphasizing the significance of relevancy and monitoring open rates.
Creating a newsworthy and relevant idea, gathering data, and pitching to journalists are key steps in a successful digital PR campaign.
Crafting a press release and visually engaging linkable assets can increase the chances of media coverage in a digital PR campaign.
Building relationships with journalists is not crucial for success in digital PR; focus on creating compelling campaigns that resonate with a wide audience.
Deep dives
The Importance of Digital PR
Digital PR is an effective way to build links and gain coverage in major online media outlets. It helps boost website authority and EAT (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness). A successful digital PR campaign involves creating a newsworthy and relevant idea, gathering data through surveys or existing sources, and pitching it to journalists. Campaigns that spark debate or offer unique insights tend to perform well. In terms of outreach, targeting tier one journalists who have covered similar topics in the past yields good results. Press releases play a crucial role in presenting the campaign's data and implications. It's important to use legitimate survey data and create visually engaging linkable assets. Following up with journalists is limited to one or two attempts. Building relationships with journalists is not necessary, as a strong campaign can attract coverage from various sources.
Structuring a Digital PR Campaign
A digital PR campaign should have a clear structure and be led by a compelling idea. The campaign idea should be relevant, newsworthy, and insightful. Gathering data through surveys or analyzing existing data helps create a compelling angle. Ideas like rankings, hypothetical situations, and expert advice pieces tend to work well. It's crucial to consider the mood of society and tap into current trends and conversations. Crafting a press release and linkable assets that visually illustrate the data can increase the chance of media coverage. Prospecting for journalists involves targeting tier one, tier two, and tier three journalists based on their previous coverage and relevance to the campaign's topic.
Executing a Digital PR Campaign
Executing a digital PR campaign involves conducting surveys to collect data and analyzing the results. Using professional survey companies adds legitimacy to the data. Visual linkable assets, such as infographics or interactive maps, help journalists understand the data easily. Press releases provide journalists with all the necessary information to create their articles. Outreach should focus on relevant journalists and media outlets. Following up should be limited to one or two attempts. In some cases, brand mentions can be transformed into links through direct communication with webmasters. Syndicated content on platforms like MSN or Yahoo can amplify the reach of a campaign. Small local publications still hold value, and their metrics and relevance should be considered before dismissing them.
Relationships and Success in Digital PR
Building relationships with journalists is not crucial for success in digital PR. Strong campaign ideas and relevant data can attract coverage from a variety of sources. Relying solely on relationships may limit link diversity and the overall impact of the campaign. While relationships with journalists can be beneficial, it's important to focus on creating compelling campaigns that resonate with a wide audience.
Key Points about Ideation and Content Creation
When running a digital PR campaign, it is crucial to come up with an idea that is newsworthy and appeals to a broad audience. Comparing different regions or cities works particularly well, as people like to see how their area compares to others. Expert advice and data-driven content are also highly valuable. Presenting the data in a visually appealing way, such as through infographics, and writing a press release with clear implications make it easier for journalists to cover the story.
Tips for Outreach and Successful Campaigns
When prospecting for journalists, it is essential to find those who have covered similar stories in the past. Personalizing the subject line and the email itself helps catch their attention. Following up once or twice is acceptable, but multiple follow-ups should be avoided. Monitoring open rates and deliverability is important, as many journalists may not reply or acknowledge your story even if they link to it. Lastly, understanding the mindset of journalists and providing them with ready-made material that appeals to a broad audience increases the chances of success with digital PR campaigns.
In this week's episode, Mark sits down with Gabriela Covay to break down exactly how her company, Bright Valley Marketing, landed Authority Hacker over 30 links - including some DR90 ones - in their full digital PR campaign. And they'll give you a step by step on how you can do it, in any niche, for your website, too 🤩💪