Guest Column: Digital PR Vs Traditional PR- Govind Mahadevan

Govind Mahadevan
Govind Mahadevan

One of the most important phrases that is being talked about in the industry every other day is the expression Digital PR. As most of the people are still unsure about what exactly it means and how it works, this article will serve as an insight to this famous, yet unknown phrase.

To start with, there are basically two types of PR services today: The first being the traditional publicist and the second being battle-worn SEOs. The former are hardworking opportunists working on their phones, pitching their client at every possible situation, submitting their self-written press releases and articles to every relevant journalist on behalf of their clients. They are people who love to work with print and therefore, the digital revolution turned out to be a huge hedge for them, as their craft is traditionally offline. While the latter are just about content and everything for them must be online.

So, these two types of PR services have come together to create a hybrid known as Digital PR.  

What is the difference between 'Digital PR' and 'Traditional PR’?

There is hardly any difference between the two, and it can be said that digital PR is just an extension and expansion of traditional PR on the digital media.  

Traditional PR

Traditional PRs are the people who deal with brand awareness and reputation management. They usually walk around with a book in their hand, something they have managed over the years with valuable contacts such as journalists, editors and influencers. Traditional PRs tend to have a speciality niche, which is why they guard their contacts so closely. Moreover, they try to deal with every niche and client differently, building the connection robust. 

 Digital PR

Digital PRs consider their client’s digital stipulations such as differing types of links, e.g. affiliate or tracked, increased number of followers etc., and develop a digital strategy to achieve these KPIs using various channels. Now, here is where it gets complicated. It’s when you add the SEO element that things get a teeny-weeny bit confusing for the traditional types. Digital PRs must consider Google webmaster guidelines, link quality, and roughly another 200 ranking factors.

Measuring success of Digital PR

Traditional PR has always struggled to attribute its value to a company, as it is hard to quantify the specific coverage they have made, as nothing is available online, nor it is tracked. Whereas, as we know in the digital world, pretty much everything can, and is, tracked and monitored. So, we are always aware of every assignment and measure the impact, and by the time we generate reports and invoices we know that every piece of coverage has added value. This actual value is literally right there in the data for everyone to see.

Can Digital PR be offline?

Of course! It can be offline, just think of all the blogger events, hashtags and brand social tags; basically, everything that takes the action onto a digital platform can be considered as Digital PR. 

(The author is  Govind Mahadevan, Digital PR Professional & Founder at Look Who’s Talking. Govind was one of the first professional to identify the potential of digital PR in India.)

 

 

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