Welcome to Comit’s new blog series on best practice in digital marketing in the B2B technology sector.
Digital marketing is a term that has become firmly embedded in PR and marketing strategies for many companies, yet many more are failing to get to grips with what exactly it has to offer.
Constant changes and updates in reporting and measurement tools mean it can be hard to keep up and easy to feel like you aren’t in the loop. However with figures showing that around 30% of marketing budgets are spent online, keeping up with trends is necessary.
Over five blogs we will cover topics including Online PR, Content Marketing, Social Media as well as SEO and Paid Advertising and biggest upcoming trends in technology. Keep reading on for our first blog which takes a look at Online PR.
Online PR and your company
Welcome to the first blog in our Digital Spectrum series where we look at Online PR and what it can do for your technology company.
Have a huge impact
Gaining PR and media coverage in traditional newspapers, magazines and radio is very valuable and has huge impact. The lifespan of a feature or article in print can last for months and it provides the all-important reassurance for companies and even prospective employees to see your company or spokesperson featured in respected publications, written about by knowledgeable journalists.
When it comes to online PR, the potential impact is also enormous. Securing coverage in an online publication enables it to be shared thousands of times across news sites, blogs, feeds and social platforms, including LinkedIn, where key decision makers reside.
Journalists and editors, who set the news agenda and subtly direct water-cooler conversation around the country are also likely to share well-written, interesting pieces that are relevant to their industry.
The scope for visibility in online PR can be managed very effectively to gain a strong reputation for your brand and position your spokespeople as experts in their industry.
Know your bloggers
Bloggers, or the columnists of the internet, can prolong the shelf-life of a story or announcement by talking about it in-depth and offering new angles and opinions. The level of dedication required to make a good blogger means they are usually the first to react and have an opinion on announcements and developments within a given industry.
Knowing your key bloggers and building strong relationships is as important as your relationship with editors and journalists. Different bloggers have different styles and varying audiences, so choose who you pitch to carefully. Use social media channels to get on their radar and share your important news.
Reputation management
The laws of the internet can be ambiguous and while most websites and blogs have comment moderators that ensure nothing libellous is posted, it is always a good idea to monitor your brand name online. Creating alerts for mentions across discussion groups or search engines is a very helpful way of doing this and ensures you’ll know you’re mentioned before the situation gets out of control.
Next week..
In our next blog, we look at content marketing and how a business can use its content across multiple platforms in the most effective way.
