As we venture into 2010, Digital PR has been a familiar phrase within the industry for some time. However, for some this still conjures feelings of confusion or a lack of confidence when looking to incorporate digital PR into an upcoming media campaign.

PR no longer just includes print and broadcast media, industry professionals must move to integrate online news sites, blogging, social media, industry forums and online communities into their strategies, creating an innovative and dynamic way to target a specific audience.

Traditional methods of PR are by no means extinct. Indeed, Digital PR aims to support, improve and widen the reach of the more traditional methods. The flexibility and multi faceted approach excite PR and marketing professionals and clients alike, opening up exciting new opportunities with fewer limitations.

Online news reporting offers instant PR coverage on the web. Some sites are linked to their sister newspapers and reflect exactly the news available within the hardcopy version. However, some sites, such as the BBC, offer up to the minute coverage providing users with 24hour updates on the stories of the moment as well as unique information not available from their offline counterparts. This type of site allows for almost instant PR, as well as inviting contribution from the public in terms of images, video and comment. There are a huge number of online news sites, many of which are sector or subject specific allowing for targeted messages to be delivered straight to the audience. Time must be taken to discover and research the most influential sites for your purpose.

Online blogging refers to individuals or ‘bloggers’ who offer their opinion and thoughts on a specific topic, whether in a positive, negative or neutral manner. Influential bloggers can be more opinionated than an offline journalist and some can become infamous in their field for their knowledge, quick wit or sharp tongue! A blogger may have their own weblog or contribute regularly to an existing site, acting as a kind of unofficial columnist.

The explosion of social media has been incredible over the past few years, with over 722,434,829 people now using Facebook worldwide. Social media sites are dependent on user interaction and/or content upload and provide an ideal opportunity for brands to promote their products or services directly to an audience. Each site has their own positives and negatives, for example You Tube allows video content to be uploaded and viewed worldwide without any restrictions, while Facebook allows a brand to upload a range of media including video, images and links, as well as invite comment from fans and brand followers.  In contrast, you can also contribute to other social networking pages created by another brand/individual, offering your opinion or inviting comment from them on a particular issue.

An interesting consequence relating to the explosion of digital techniques within the PR industry is the effect this can have on crisis PR. Messages, comments and stories are around for a lot longer and the saying ‘today’s news is tomorrows chip paper’ cannot be linked to online PR. For example, an online news story will stay on that site for years, often picked up by online searches when a keyword is typed in. This is all very well if the story is positive but if there is a negative aspect then a company/individual can find it very difficult to shrug off the resulting reputation. PR professionals must therefore be extremely careful to monitor and react to online news and blogging, allowing them to be prepared and take appropriate steps to counteract the news if necessary. These steps could include an effective Search Engine Optimisation strategy to ensure positive or good news stories about a brand appear higher up in the rankings of a search engine, or ‘Forum Champions’ who have already bought into the brand and post messages of support in defence of bad publicity. These steps would be tailored to react correctly to the individual situation, and may not always be appropriate.

Digital PR is not something that should be entered into un-planned. A bespoke PR plan should be developed, tailored to the needs and requirements of the business and their overall objectives. Not all areas of Digital PR will be suitable for every business and the benefits of each have to be considered before both time and money are invested. With proven experience of developing integrated digital campaigns, AVC’s digital PR experts can guide you through the potential pitfalls and work with you to develop a succinct digital PR strategy. The effectiveness of the campaign and individual formats will be closely monitored by AVC, and future plans will be based on the results to ensure you get the most from digital PR moving forward.