OUR BLOG

By Emily Shuler, Public Relations Manager

The role of public relations in a brand’s business and marketing plan, and how it contributes to revenue, is often misunderstood and undervalued. Public relations goes far beyond crisis or reputation management; it is a tool that — when used responsibly — elevates your brand recognition and fills your sales funnel with prospects.

All good marketing strategies start with a combination of paid (print or digital advertisements), owned (website or social media), and earned (public relations) tactics. If any in the trifecta are ignored, the result is an unbalanced strategy that will likely result in slower sales growth.

But we are here to focus on the earned part of the trifecta, so we’ve rounded up the top three ways that PR supports sales growth.

Digital Public Relations: Driving Website Traffic via Third-Party Backlinks

Business goals usually revolve around driving potential customers to your website to complete some type of action — whether it is hitting the “Buy Now” button or filling out a contact form for your sales team to follow up on. And PR is one of the best hidden secrets to drive potential customers to these actions.

PR tactics such as a product placement in a top 50 roundup or an article authored by one of your experts are some of the most effective and low-cost tools to drive interest and traffic to your website. When your content is published with reputable third-party sites, 9 times out of 10 a link to your website is included at the end of your brand mention. This effectively directs users to click to learn more.

Additionally, when someone reads your content piece, it means you are generating an engaged user, someone who is more likely to Google your company after being exposed to your brand. Aside from driving website traffic, backlinks are also one of the most important ranking factors in Google’s search algorithm. Obtaining more backlinks will help your site achieve higher placement in organic searches and will inevitably lead to increased traffic to your site.

Establishing Expertise and Credibility Through Thought Leadership

You are an expert in your industry. So you should be flaunting what you know and showcasing what makes your company’s skill set, culture, services, and more unique. Whether your business is just getting started or you’re an industry vet, dedicating resources to establish your people and your brand as industry experts builds a strong and trustworthy reputation. People want to do business with people who know their stuff — and who have the digital footprint to prove it.

This is where thought leadership public relations comes in. And there are several ways to approach it — applying to speak on a panel, entering your product or project into an award program, or submitting an article on a hot topic to a trade publication.

No matter which you choose (note that all good PR strategies include a combination of these tactics), taking time to dedicate resources to these opportunities makes your brand known, and known well. Also, participating in PR-driven networking opportunities is likely to set up your brand to meet new leads or land your next big customer.

Growing Awareness of Your Product, Service, or Solution

Your future customers can’t buy your product or solution if they don’t even know it exists. The bread and butter of public relations is growing awareness — that is, educating potential customers on why they should engage with your brand.

Don’t let the internet form opinions of your brand for you. Implementing a public relations strategy that works with your paid media tactics allows your brand to be the owner and steward of your story. And with that comes the power to showcase why your target audiences should choose your brand over competitors.

From offering a new product or service to announcing an acquisition, traditional and digital public relations helps spread your brand’s message at a lower cost of entry than other marketing tactics. But it is important to remember that public relations can’t work alone. Be sure to enlist support from an advertising or public relations agency (like Alpha Dog Advertising) that understands how paid, owned, and earned tactics work together.

Considering PR for Your Brand?

PR is effective at growing brand awareness and driving leads. If you’d like to know how a public relations strategy can drive revenue for your brand, reach out and contact us today.