1.
Digital PR: Toolkits, Reputation, and
Search Matter More than Ever Before
Presented by Casey Knox
Director, Communications at AREA203
@caseymaeknox
Southeast PRSA District Conference 2012 - #sePRSA12

2.
DEFINITION
DIGITAL PR:
The use of online technologies to:
1. Build relationships
2. Communicate and exchange messages
3. Protect and build brand positioning
#sePRSA12

3.
STATISTICS
75% of users never scroll past the first page of search
results com Score
8 of 10 US internet users say negative info they read online,
made them change their mind about a purchase
decision eMarketer
83% of consumers say that online reviews influence their
perception about companies eMarketer
#sePRSA12

4.
Digital PR: Toolkits

5.
Digital PR Toolkit: MS Office
Think beyond writing press releases using Word & creating
PowerPoint presentations for monthly reporting...
Think of ways to use these tools.
‹
#sePRSA12

6.
Digital PR Toolkit: MS Office
Use Excel to synthesize and pivot your data and create custom
dashboards.
#sePRSA12

7.
Digital PR Toolkit: MS Office
Master PowerPoint and create/populate a SlideShare account
to facilitate lead generation for B2B.
http://bit.ly/yousuckpptx
#sePRSA12

8.
SlideShare Stats & Facts
• Largest social content network
• 60 million visits a month
• Top 200 web sites
• LinkedIn acquired SlideShare in 2012
• 400,000 new presentations uploaded
monthly
#sePRSA12

9.
Digital PR Toolkit: MS Office
Leverage a simple Word document for an employee-generated
content strategy.
(credit: Southwest Airlines)
Information to capture:
Even jot it
• Idea: storyline
• Multimedia: links, photos, videos down on a
• Timeline: when to expect it Post-it not
e…
• Misc.: what else is needed
#sePRSA12

10.
Digital PR Toolkit: Content Generation
Look at content distribution in the context of paid, owned,
and earned media.
›
PAID
that drives audiences to
› ›
Paying to leverage the power of
a channel to deliver a message
another type of media is almost
always scalable by performance.
OWNED
Creating content within a controlled
environment and setting a repeatable,
value-added experience is (dare I say)
key to all content strategies.
EARNED
Built through engagement,
conversation and content sharing, the
customer is the channel here.
#sePRSA12

11.
Digital PR Toolkit: Content Generation
• Employee-generated content
• User-generated content
• Branded content
• Promotional content
#sePRSA12

12.
Digital PR Toolkit: Content Generation
• Repurposing content
• Multiple executions of content
• Refined v. unrefined content
#sePRSA12

13.
Unrefined or refined video content?
#sePRSA12

14.
Digital PR Toolkit: Social Media
Five pillars of social media management
1 LISTENING
2 CONTENT
3 ENGAGEMENT
4 INTEGRATION
5 MEASUREMENT
#sePRSA12

15.
Digital PR Toolkit: Social Media Categories and Audience Types
#sePRSA12

16.
Digital PR & Social Intelligence

17.
Digital PR & Social Media Intelligence
Top digital pr uses from social intelligence:
1. PR audit (i.e., earned media volume, trend analysis, sentiment analysis, etc…)
2. Crisis identification
3. Respond to real-time pr opportunities
#sePRSA12

18.
Digital PR & Social Media Intelligence
Social Intelligence - the
listening and collection of
data from social media
sources for business value.
#sePRSA12

19.
Crisis identification case study
Objective: Correct a viral travel advisory from US Embassy to avoid travel to Lake Atitlán
Alternate Route Map to Lake Atitlán
(identified through social intelligence)
Target Audience: U.S. travelers with plans to visit Guatemala
Solution: Disseminate corrective media statement, collect alternate route footage to post on
social properties and share digitally through media and travel influencers
Media: Public relations; social media
Result: Positive buzz outnumbered negative buzz 57% to 43%; crisis ended within 3 weeks
#sePRSA12

20.
Crisis identification case study takeaways
• Use a mix of tools (organic, free and paid tools)
• Conducting pro-active internet-wide listening is paramount (listen beyond your property line)
• Optimize keyword sets and subsets weekly/monthly and as needed
• Open communication lines between Marketing, Corporate Communications, Advertising
and PR (sign NDAs and share intelligence)
• Have a crisis plan in place (scenario planning, escalation ladders, response flow charts,
contact lists, etc…)
#sePRSA12

21.
Digital PR & Optimization

22.
Digital PR optimization: Outbrain
• Content discovery platform
• Helps users discover your
content based on what
they are currently reading
• Placement among world
renowned premium
publishers
• USAToday.com
• CNN.com
• NewYorkPost.com
• Mashable.com
#sePRSA12

23.
Digital PR optimization case study
Objective: Increase awareness and positive search results for LeadPile’s 3rd consecutive
Inc. Magazine nomination—Fastest Growing Companies in America
Target Audience: Potential customers and Industry peers
Solution: Launch an integrated PR and social media campaign
Media: Digital public relations; social media
Result: Over 21,OOO article clicks; more than 16M impressions; increased Twitter community
size by 100%; gained two page one organic search results for “LeadPIle”
#sePRSA12

24.
Digital PR optimization case study takeaways
• Recommended test campaigns media budget ($5k for 30 days-minimum)
• Create several title options to test
• Outbrain’s comprehensive analytics dashboard; track clicks,
impressions, interactions, conversions (i.e., application downloads)
• Outbrain is a pay-for-performance model
• Use Outbrain as part of an overall PR strategy
#sePRSA12

25.
Digital PR & Search

26.
Digital PR & Search Engines Rankings
✓
Ways to positively impact SERPs
• Publish owned media releases ✓
• Gain positive earned media
coverage ✓
✓
• Build a portfolio of social and ✓
c
owned assets

27.
Digital PR & Search Engines
• Quality content is key
• Use relevant links (but not too many)
• Integrate social sharing and traction
around content
• Use plain/natural language—don’t
create cryptic headlines

28.
Digital PR & Search Audiences
75% of users never scroll past the first page of search results com Score
Press releases headlines with less than 130 characters get more
clicks PR Newswire
Make every aspect of a press releases ”tweetable” PR Newswire
• Headline
• Sub-headline
• Every sentence
• The multi-media (images or videos)

29.
Suggested Reference Materials

30.
Thank You!
casey.knox@AREA203.com
@caseymaeknox
@AREA203Digital