Lately we have heard CEOs of ultimillion-dollar companies talk about their company’s profits and losses; and we noticed that he considered marketing, sales and public relations – all of this as a single item.
In the minds of these sharks, anything that brings new business belongs to just one category.
We can understand how logical this may seem. However, when you look at these separate operations as a joint function, you cannot see how one affects the other. In fact, they are complementary, so joining them together makes it difficult to understand how to maximize these investments.
Qual é a importância de capitalizar a mídia conquistada de
PR in your Digital Marketing?
If the 2016 US presidential election were an indicator, it would be the best example for generating awareness and leads. In addition to the inaccuracies in the polls, Donald Trump’s victory surprised many people because he spent less on advertising than any other candidate.
He made up for unpaid advertising dollars, earning more earned media than any other candidate – almost $ 2 billion over the course of his run.
The truth is that you need PR and digital marketing to achieve certain goals. But it is up to you to ensure that these efforts are aligned.
Understanding symbiosis better
Many people who start businesses are “product” people or “financial” people and do not necessarily have marketing skills. If you find the marketing environment confusing, you will probably outsource it without fully recognizing all the nuances involved in attracting customers and satisfying them.
Let’s say you have $ 10,000 – what role should you invest in? If you have to ask this question, you may not have realized that they are not interchangeable. The answer is both; it is the combination of PR and Marketing that drives growth. And yes, both are possible, even with a limited budget.
How to boost your PR with Digital Marketing
Articles and stories often give your product a spin you didn’t anticipate and could prepare you for exponential returns. To get the best possible return, use PR as a launching pad for digital marketing:
1. Make sure the right hand knows what the left hand is doing. The biggest obstacle to be overcome is that, sometimes, one agency believes that the other is taking money out of your pocket: “if you didn’t spend a lot on digital, you would spend more on PR and vice versa.”
To overcome this obstacle, hire agencies that are willing to cooperate and communicate openly with each other. Currently, almost 60% of CMOs do not believe that social media is closely linked to their organizations’ marketing strategies. To avoid this problem, refer someone at your company or an agency to ensure that the digital team leverages the efforts of the Public Relations team.
Here is a related case: An American partner company serving an antenna manufacturer has created an antenna that connects two cell phones via Bluetooth, allowing communication even if there is no service. This connection was originally launched as an accessory for outdoor activities, but when American TV identified it as potentially useful for a terrorist attack, they knew they had to turn the press mention into an asset.
They started uploading a video of the Fox News broadcast to Facebook and showing ads aimed at like-minded people. Doomsday preppers and others concerned about Armageddon shared it widely, and we saw a most successful advertising campaign thanks to part of the PR.
2. Take advantage of PR in your digital marketing. This is a must. When you’re analyzing ROI, you need to think about both together, not in a vacuum. But remember: some of the best performing ads come from PR leverage. If you run Facebook ads using a PR article and see a high return, for example, that benefit will not occur entirely thanks to Facebook.
American Giant dominated the use of PR, starting with an article published just 10 months after the company’s launch. The article proclaimed that one of the company’s products was “the biggest hood ever made”. American Giant wisely followed through. Using this article and others, the brand focused all of its marketing efforts on PR. From advertisements to customer emails, he used great media to build credibility; and reports have suggested that its revenue has skyrocketed to tens of millions of dollars.
Having your digital team push a positive piece of the press – not the way Facebook drives posts, but putting money behind and using it as an advertising asset – can create an incredible moment.
3. Be patient. That’s not what you want to hear, but PR and Marketing are not silver bullets. Both efforts require a long-term commitment. They will mature over time, but they should be seen as current initiatives expanding in the early days.
As Jessica Engholm, from ESSE PR, explained: “When all is said and done, the PR value is in the name. It is the practice of building a relationship with your target audiences. The brand attachment generates a more inclined customer, creating predisposed buyers that your marketing efforts can benefit from. ”
An example: Ethical fashion retailer Zady understands the long-term commitment required for an effective digital marketing and public relations strategy. After a year of preparation, it launched a project called “The New Standard”, a platform that provides information to consumers and the global community about the negative effects that certain practices in the garment industry have on people and the environment.
Simultaneously, the company started its # fashion4climate campaign, and gave a call to action, launching its first fall / winter collection. A year of research informed the launch of the campaign and now Zady has finished promoting it.
You have a million things to think about when running a business. Finding ways to double the impact of any marketing effort will help you focus on what matters most: winning and retaining customers.