ONLINE PR
PR is a marketing approach focused on cultivating and improving the image an audience may have of a company through brand-oriented content.
WHAT IS ONLINE PR?
Many people are somewhat familiar with traditional PR that gets the word out about a company or product through TV, radio, and magazines. Online PR, as the name suggests, works within internet-based channels such as social media, blogs, websites, and search engines.
This innovative marketing approach incorporates journalism, creative writing and storytelling, sales, media, SEO, social media, community management, customer relations, web design—the tactics available are in abundance.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ONLINE PR AND OFFLINE PR?
Online PR and Offline PR can overlap, sharing the same mission of producing and distributing captivating branding. They differ, however, in their methods. As mentioned above, online PR works with internet-focused branding, while offline PR keeps its focus on branding opportunities in the real world.
It can be argued that because their methods differ, one form of PR may be better than the other. Of course, at the end of the day, it comes down to your business goals and which method will get you there.
Online PR, however, does have a notable benefit that offline PR doesn’t: online PR has a better chance of receiving feedback. With comment sections and clicks from online ads, companies can tell exactly what the customer thinks of their product or business—this instant feedback can help improve services.
PR AND REPUTATION
MANAGEMENT
PR and online reputation management have a lot of similarities—although not identical, they go hand in hand. PR is more visible; it is public, in that it’s meant to be seen by an audience, while reputation management, which deals with the company’s brand image consistency, is not always noticed by the audience or customers. Even so, reputation management monitors SEO to stay on top of the company image and to publish relevant content.
Reputation management considers the changes in search options, which better informs the PR choices a company will make. It also deals with the upkeep of company websites, and publishes blog posts to keep giving people a reason to stay connected with your business. Basically, reputation management is very hands-on to ensure that the company is interacting with its audience, considering their interests, and responding to their content.
WHY ONLINE PR IS
COST EFFECTIVE
HOW TO PLAN YOUR ONLINE PR
 | First, start by identifying your target audience and their interests—what they are looking for and where they spend their time. This lets you know where to promote your content, what to say in your PR messages, and how to keep your audience’s interest. |
 | Next, you must understand your PR goals. At this stage, you need to break out the tasks and time frames needed to achieve your goals as well as the delivery mechanism required to communicate your message to potential customers. Do you want your audience to interact with you on social media? What about leaving product reviews? |