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Online public relations is a must, whether it be for your brand or for a client. It not only aids in humanizing your brand or client and builds the audience but, it gives you the opportunity to spread news online whenever you want. You also get to control how your company is represented online and can control the message.

A few fun facts on digital PR:

• In a survey of journalists and reporters conducted by TopRank, 91% of respondents indicated they frequently use search engines to do their job. (Source)
• Today, most journalists are more frequent in checking their Twitter stream than their email messages. (Source)
• Journalists have access to most information they might be looking for on your brand, at the most you can only direct them to find the right and more relevant information. (Source)

That’s why it’s important that everything you do for your company and client online is at its 100% best. Better yet, it’s 1,000% best. You need to make sure all things social, all things blog and everything else you have online is top notch. Who knows when a journalist might stumble across some impressive news via your social sites? Or, a reporter might pick up a blog post on something stellar that your company and/or client has accomplished. Again, online public relations is a MUST, MUST, MUST.

Another powerful form of digital PR includes guest blogging (which has become a modern form of media coverage these days). Certain blogs and bloggers are becoming established online and often become sites that people return to on a daily basis. Getting your handiwork in front of a particular audience via guest blogging helps to demonstrate your credibility and showcase your expertise.

Take PR Daily, for example. This is the #1 PR blog online right now that not only updates multiple times a day, but PR Daily sends emails with their top stories, they update their Facebook page and Twitter account regularly and they allow guest writers…often. That’s an example of a resource to contact and try and get a blog post in front of new eyes and readers. PR Daily, as do most bloggers, allow guest writers to add in a short quip at the bottom of a post, too. This is your chance to highlight yourself, the author, and your company.

Guest blogging can be applied to top bloggers across all industries. Start a database of top bloggers in your industry and particular blogs that you’d be interested in writing for. Research each blog individually to see if they offer guest posting positions. If not, send a quick email (most blogs have some form of email contact) to see if they’d be interested. It never hurts to ask, right? For more tips on getting started with guest blogging, refer back to this post.

If you need help with online public relations or want a strategic, savvy agency to handle it for you, contact us over at Agency Entourage, a Dallas marketing firm, and check out our Capabilities page for everything else we can do.

Why do you feel digital PR is important?