Public Relations is an industry that companies have been relying on for years but with the introduction of the internet to businesses and their publics, many companies have taken it upon themselves to handle their own PR. We at Digital by Design are about to tell you why getting an expert to take care of your Digital PR for you is the best way to go.

2. 1 March 2012
FEELING
CONTENT
A FRESH LOOK AT DIGITAL PR
VOLUME 2
Pr
rP

4. INDEX
INTRODUCTION:
- REACH MILLIONS MORE READERS, LISTENERS AND VIEWERS
- GET THE MAXIMUM MEDIA COVERAGE FOR THE MESSAGE YOUR MANAGEMENT
CARES ABOUT MOST
- SEE A BOOM IN SALES
SECTION 1:
- THE EVOLUTION OF PR
- GET IT OUT THERE
- ITS NOT WHAT YOU SAY, IT’S HOW YOU SAY IT
- WORD-OF-MOUTH
SECTION 2: OFFLINE VERSUS ONLINE
SECTION 3:
- GET IN TOUCH
- BEING HEARD
- PLUG IN
- POWER SOURCES
- MAKE A PLAN
- RULE OF THUMB
- GET VIRAL
- TAKE A LOOK
CONCLUSION
“ See your message
spread like wild fire!
“

5. INTRODUCTION
Public Relations is an industry that companies have been relying on for years
but with the introduction of the internet to businesses and their publics, many
companies have taken it upon themselves to handle their own PR. We at
Digital by Design are about to tell you why getting an expert to take care of
your Digital PR for you is the best way to go.
Get an expert to take
care of your online PR.
REACH MILLIONS MORE READERS, LISTENERS AND VIEWERS
See your message spread like wildfire. The internet is a big place – it takes
experience and a certain finesse to effectively communicate within it. Your
online activity shouldn’t feel like throwing content into an abyss. It is possible
to see results and good ones if you handle your online presence correctly.
GET THE MAXIMUM MEDIA COVERAGE FOR THE MESSAGE YOUR
MANAGEMENT CARES ABOUT MOST
Become fully intergrated
Not only should your online activity yield results, it should stay with the 21st century
true to the ideals and brand characteristics that your company
first began with. Becoming fully integrated with the 21st century doesn’t have
to mean sacrificing your company’s traditional values – in fact, it can mean
emphasising them to your target market.
Public Relations companies know who would be interested in your company
and its goings on and we can ensure that what you have to say reaches the
ears it should. Ensure that people who care about your brand hear about it.
What better way to promote yourselves than through people that are
truly passionate about what you do?
SEE A BOOM IN SALES
Expand your target market. The online world is filled with many different
people – don’t see this as a hurdle to overcome. In fact, this is an opportunity
for the word about your company to reach an even greater audience without
employing more sales people, opening up a new branch or
physically expanding your employees – it’s simply about It’s simply about
smart internet involvement. Internet involvement

6. Pr

7. Section 1:
The Basics
Pr
WHAT IS PR?
Defining the term ‘Public Relations’ could take days; there are
so many different facets to it. For the sake of this e-book, we’ll
use this interpretation: Public Relations is the method of adver-
tising your company’s brand, ideals, news and developments to
the public in hopes of furthering business as well as retaining an
open line of communication between your company and your
target market.

8. ??
?
?
?
? WHAT DO
PR COMPANIES
DO?
Offline=Billboards Online=Social Media,
TV adverts, Radio time Websites, Online Journals, etc
Digital Public Relations companies ensure that the way you’re going
(like Digital by Design) establish about your online PR is effective.
and maintain relationships with Are you communicating properly
offline media (billboards, TV with your target market? Are you
adverts, radio time, etc.) and online furthering your sales and expand-
media (social media, websites, ing your client base? Is your
online journals, online PR plat- company’s brand being correctly
forms, online PR news, forums, represented? Does the public
article platforms, article directories know about the latest develop-
etc.) and potential partners on ments within the company and the
behalf of our clients. Online public newest range of products that
Relations companies are there to came out a week ago?
“ The specific roles of a PR company will be explained within
every section as we go along, in order to give you a more
holistic understanding of the industry and what it’s all about.
“

9. THE EVOLUTION
OF PR
Then Get It Out There
Generally speaking, public relations companies used to consist of sending out press
releases. This was the majority of their interaction with the public;
•They wrote up press releases.
•Maintained relationships with influential people in the media industries .
•Tried to communicate effectively with their market without directly interacting with
them.
Press releases were sent out whenever there was ‘substantial’ news about the company
that the general public should be informed of. This kind of news involved;
•New products and offers.
•Report-backs on conferences that company representatives attended and largely
impacted on.
•Anniversaries for the company as a whole.
•Major company developments or reorganisations.
•Initiatives.
•Competitions.
•Events hosted by the company, community-related drives.
All things that were considered important and sent out a very obvious and heavy mes-
sage about the company’s brand. Any news that justified a press release had to mean
something to the community, drive home a sales pitch rather heavy-handedly, shine a
flattering light on any part of the company and/or its employees or impact directly on the
company’s clients.
This was because the only way the public was able to hear about any of the company’s
news was through the printed press. If the press release didn’t make it to the newspaper
or if their powerful journalist contact didn’t deem it fitting, it never reached the public.

10. PR
Now
Print media: no longer the
top of the food chain
Since the beginning of PR, the industry has gained bags of finesse.
Take the infamous press release.
We’re no longer just sending it to our contacts in a few newspapers, printed media
companies, and magazines – we’re sending it to online journalists, newspapers, blog-
gers, and blogs. The internet has provided us with dozens more mediums through
which we can retain the integrity of a brand and still communicate our news.
Companies are now able to talk about news that isn’t necessarily ‘press worthy’ but that
would interest their clients through their own online mediums. This means companies
are no longer relying on the printed press’ approval to be able to communicate with
their market – gone is the indirect approach to PR. We now have a chance to communi-
cate directly with the people who keep our businesses afloat, which is an incredible
opportunity to really make your company’s brand a reality to your clients.
Over time, once your company has established an online presence, it will be able to
branch out and begin communicating with its markets and publics through videos,
podcasts, webinars, vlogs – written media (whether it’s online or offline) won’t be your
only means of getting your message across. This will result in an even bigger online
audience, therefore leading to an even larger online response.
Online media has the ability
to float your business
Online journalists,bloggers and
blogs are the future

11. It’s Not What You Say, It’s How You Say It
Then
The tone of PR was also rather ‘journalistic’ in its approach to creating content.
The mediums they used determined the language they chose to communicate
their messages with. Because print media is still today quite a formal means of
communication, all press releases were written to adhere to a higher standard of
writing.
This formal level of communication limited their receptive markets, to some extent
– certain publics would not have responed effectively to that means of corre-
spondence. This inhibited the reach of their messages.

12. Online mediums have altered
the tone of communication
Now
The altered mediums have affected the tone of communication, too. It’s far more
relational and (to some extent) personal as well. This further enables bonds to be
formed between the company and the clients, therefore further strengthening
the loyalty between client and company, which will further business.
There are a number of different online platforms through which your company
can communicate with your market and each platform has their own style of
communication. This means that your PR content is no longer limited to reach a
certain group of people due to something simple like writing style – a dozen
different tones are now available to your company to use to get your message
across.
With our expertise in social media and other digital platforms, we have the
upper-hand when it comes to styling your content to reach the maximum
number of people across many online communities.

13. Word-Of-Mouth
Then In the past, the mediums
available were limited
Because the printed press was the primary offline medium that companies could
use to communicate with the public, PR companies spent a lot of time nurturing
relationships with journalists and influential people in the media.
There was also the problem of reaching as much of the public as possible. If you
didn’t buy the newspaper that day, you would have had no idea if anything had
happened. If you bought a different newspaper, you were again oblivious.
Word-of-mouth has always been a large part of companies’ communication and
this helped spread the companies’ news slightly further than the press releases
but the mediums available at that time were limited.

14. Aim to make your
content go viral!
Now
You have a bigger say in whether your company makes or breaks it.
Relationships are still being built but with a wider group of different people. Relation-
ships with your clients, online influencers, people who have clout in the printed press –
companies are able to truly get in touch with every aspect of the people and commu-
nities that define their success. Now a company’s success is tangible to them in every
way and largely controllable.
Not only are you able to have a far more hands-on approach, the spread of informa-
tion has completely changed. Companies’ main aim nowadays should be to go “viral”.
It’s like the pay-it-forward of the web. One person reads an article on your website
that they enjoy. It’s simply a matter of a few clicks and they’ve been able to share it in
three different ways on the internet. People they know on each of these sites are now
exposed to your article. They then have the opportunity to tell everyone they know
about it. Suddenly, your article could have spread to hundreds of people in a matter
of minutes.
There’s no better way to expand your market. Every company wants to go viral. And
the great part is that Digital Design’s team can help you get there.

15. Section 2:
OFFLINE
VERSUS
ONLINE
To truly display why online media is the way to go, we’re going
to show you in a very hands-on way exactly what online media
has that offline media doesn’t.

16. OFFLINE MEDIA ONLINE MEDIA
- Largely communicated through - Able to be communicated through
printed press many different online platforms
- The ways in which to communicate - With each online platform comes a
the company’s message are limited different medium through which you
to press releases, articles and offline can communicate your message,
adverts therefore giving you diversity and a
- The availability of your company’s larger online audience
message is determined by your con - Your company now has its own online
tacts within the printed press – if voice, therefore it has the ability to put
they don’t like your content, they whatever content it deems suitable
won’t publish it onto their online platforms
- The tone of your company’s mes- - Each online platform has its own tone,
sages is determined by the tone of therefore your company is able to
the offline media that you use to tailor its message to fit each online
communicate said message – this community. This opens your message
could limit the reach of what you’re up to a much larger online audience
saying due to a lack of responsive - Relationships with a number of differ
ness to the way in which it is commu ent influential people in online com
nicated munities can be maintained through
- Companies had to spend large the online platforms that they fre-
amounts of time (and money) quent. This saves your company time
wooing potential and current con and money and gives you an added
nections in the print-media industry convenience that will serve you well
in order to keep the relationships throughout your digital public rela-
open and to give their content a tions experience
better chance of making it into the - Setting up a website for your com-
printed press pany is far cheaper than buying radio
- Renting space on a billboard, buying time. Setting up a Facebook page is
space in a newspaper for an advert free. Not only will digital PR mediums
and creating TV commercials are all save you money, they also provide
very expensive and it’s difficult to you with many different ways to keep
track the effectiveness of each of tabs on the response to your
these mediums or to see if your com company’s online involvement and
pany has made any progress or easily track the progress your com-
growth. pany is making.

17. Section 3:
THE
PRACTICAL
Now that you know what Public Relations is all about, how do
you get there? Here’s a simple step-by-step guide.
PR
Step 1: Find Out Where you stand
GET IN TOUCH
The first step when reformatting your Public Relations is for
your public relations team to find out where you stand at the
moment. We use our knowledge of online communities and
platforms to look at the online conversations that are being
held about your company at this moment in time. We get a real
sense of where you are right now.
1. Who is talking about you? What is your current client base? Identify the
kind of people that have something to say.
2. Is it positive feedback?
3. Is it negative feedback?
4. Begin to take note of the issues that are being raised on the web. You
want to address these later, therefore you need to know what they are
5. Identify where you need to really impact on your current client base.
Stay relevant to the people that you’re already dealing with and aim to
fulfil a need of theirs through your company and its products/services.
6. Look for opportunities where you can increase your client base. If
people are talking about your industry but not mentioning your com
pany, you now have the opportunity to change that.

18. Once these questions are starting to yield answers, there follows a much better understand-
ing of the kind of path your company’s PR needs to take in order to be effective again. Gain
context in order to cater to the big picture.
BEING HEARD
Look at your online presence as it is. Gauge how influential
your company is in the fields that it should be influential in.
1. How many people are taking note of what you’re saying?
2. Is your market really hearing you?
3. What parts of your online conversation are they hearing?
4. How big an impact does whatever you say online have on the people that matter?
Really understand how far what your company says goes. Be realistic about it; you can’t
make an effective difference to your online communication if you can’t honestly work from
where you are.
PLUG IN
Once you’ve figured out what people are saying about you,
it’s time to figure out where they’re saying it.
This will provide you with heaps of information about the kind of people that are talking
about you and the kinds of people you should be aiming your conversation towards.
Forget people volunteering for surveys – the internet can provide you with all you need to
know about your market and without them being at all inconvenienced.
Also, look at how your company can start jumping into the conversations in its own right.
You have a way to solve a problem or fulfil a need within a certain online community –
don’t merely rely on other people to advertise yourself for you! Become involved in relevant
conversations and make yourself known.

19. POWER SOURCES
You now know what people are saying about you, where
they’re saying it and how much of what you say they hear.
.
Now it’s time to start identifying the individuals that carry a lot of influence. These aren’t
necessarily the people with the most followers – these are the people who have opinions
and judgements that others trust. Be sure you are correctly identifying this important group
of internet maestros.
Find the ones that are already talking about you and see what they alone are saying. See if
they like your company or not. Is there a way for you to convert them if they don’t like your
company? If they do like your company, how can you show appreciation in order to further
encourage their positive influence on the online conversation about you?
Now look at those online names that are talking about an industry or area that relates to
what your company does but isn’t talking about your company itself. Why are they not
talking about your company? Is there a way for you to introduce them to your company?
Begin to build relationships online and not just with the ‘regular’ Jo’s that are talking about
you. Connect with major bloggers, journalists, media personalities and the ‘traditional PR’
types of people. Except now, you don’t have to leave your office to begin networking
correctly. Digital Design can cultivate relationships with online media and clients through
meetings and correspondence, maintain master media/blogger list in order to ensure that
your company’s message is reaching all the right ears in all the right places and develop
and manage PR procedures as outlined by your company.

20. MAKE A PLAN
You’ve gathered information, you’ve done your research and
you have an idea of which direction your company’s online
presence needs to go in. The next big step is planning a
strategy.
It is essential that what your company says creates just the right picture in order to create
just the right effect. It is not a matter of needing to have an online presence and therefore
haphazardly attempting to become part of an online community by throwing information
onto the internet that doesn’t connect and doesn’t accurately show off your brand.
With a well-designed content strategy, your company can go from being an unknown to
causing a stir across the web. People enjoy sharing stories that are relevant to them, enter-
tain them, interest them or use an interesting way of communicating themselves. Only once
your content is intriguing can it hope to go viral – and viral is the only way to go.
We assist in creating and executing yearly PR online plans, objectives and goals. We partici-
pate in planning meetings, providing strategic counsel and recommendations with regards
to Online PR. We evolve with your company’s needs in order to provide the strategy for
your company that fits like a glove. Our hands are capable ones and your company’s online
PR strategies are safe with us.
Well designed content
helps your company
evolve
RULE OF THUMB
It’s time to create the content you’ve strategized.
The content your company puts on the internet needs to grab attention, stay relevant to
your market’s needs and desires, be short enough to communicate your message in its
entirety without losing a readers’ interest and stay true to your company’s brand and ideals.
Outstanding Content
grabs attention

21. Digital
by Design
Coordination with your company’s unique needs to fine-tune
your company’s content strategy
- Develops and maintains ongoing PR Activity calendar.
- Writes and distributes press releases, fact sheets, pitch letters, bylined articles, biographies
and key message documents.
- Helps to schedule and prepare PR materials.
- Helps create online media outreach programmes for your company’s breaking campaigns,
senior new hires, awards, accolades and new business wins.
- Conducts online-media follow-ups in order to stay connected with what the online commu
nity is saying about your company, how they’re responding to your new content.
GET VERBAL
You want people to be talking about your company and
what you have to say. The best way to ensure that that is
happening is to facilitate their conversations right on your
online platforms.
Start your own online conversations
.
Enable people to like, share and connect via a whole host of online platforms and mediums.
Let people comment on what you have to say, communicate directly with other people who
are also interested in your content –This way, you have a much easier way of keeping an eye
on a percentage of what people are saying about your company without half of the hassle.
With people being able to discuss your content easily, it has a better chance of reaching a
larger audience and going viral. Social Media and online information-sharing thrives on the
ease of the transaction of content.

22. TAKE A LOOK
One of the greatest advantages digital Public Relations has
over traditional Public Relations is its ability to be measured.
It’s so easy to calculate your company’s ROI through digital
public relations and marketing campaigns.
.
How can one accurately measure the number of people that respond to a press release in a
newspaper or magazine? An estimate of the number of newspapers sold that day could be
made but there is no way of telling how many people
a) read your press release,
b) how they responded to it and
c) if it lead to future business from those people.
The only way to measure the success of your print-media public relations attempt would
be through market research and surveys. These need people to carry them out, therefore
add further costs to company and many hours of manual (and menial) labour that the
company does not necessarily have to spend.
With digital public relations, there are a number of websites and online tools that enable
you to trace how often your company’s name is being mentioned on social media websites;
- How many comments are being made on your posts.
- How many people are actively following your company’s online involvement.
- How many people do a Google Search on your company.
- How much traffic is going to your company’s website
You can track every aspect of your company’s progress online, enabling you to see tangi-
ble results. This also gives your company a better idea of which aspects of your content
strategy are effective and which aren’t and that leads to your content strategy being
tweaked for maximum impact.
Digital by Design believes in providing our clients with the effectiveness of our digital mar-
keting campaigns. Showing their progress through statistics,
graphs and other mediums. We constantly monitor what works
for the company and what works for their publics and bring
the two worlds together in order to deliver the ultimate
growth in online participation,
influence, publicity and sales.

23. Section 3:
CONCLUSION
Marrying your company’s offline and online public relations will
lead to the best of both worlds. Digital PR is not replacing tradi-
tional PR but merely complimenting it in an extremely effective
manner that facilitates the best chances of your company
growing and evolving to yield the best results.
With our expertise in the field of digital marketing, our knowl-
edge of social media platforms, websites, online tools, online
communities and online conversations as well as our passion
for what your company has to offer the world-wide web, Digital
by Design can partner with you to deliver truly spectacular
Public Relations that will lead to reaching millions more readers,
listeners and viewers, getting the maximum media coverage for
the message that your management cares about the most and
a boom in sales.

24. Choose a better future for your company. Choose to go Digital.
SOCIALLY YOURS
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website: www.digitalbydesign.co.za
address: No 10 Cheetah Crescent, Rivonia, Sandton, SA
tel: 087 809 3221
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