Just as the internet has dramatically changed the way we communicate, source information, socialise and do business, it’s also having an impact on how we deliver PR. But while consumer practitioners relish and embrace the wide range of new tactics and techniques digital offers, developments in the B2B arena are happening at a slightly different pace.
There are immediate digital opportunities which mirror those in print (especially when we consider most print titles have either an online version, or that so many have migrated online completely), but it would be underselling the potential to simply suggest that everything we do offline simply translates online. Instead the scope of opportunity presents us with a much more dynamic and exciting B2B digital toolkit, offering not only specific digital techniques, but a new level of immediacy and interactivity which B2B PR may have lacked in the past.
At Eulogy! we’re marching forward with the development of our B2B digital approach. Since embarking on this process we’ve discovered some of what works, some of what doesn’t, but also realised that the journey is one of constant evolution. Specific techniques may be as simple as embracing social media-based opportunities, in order to manage a client’s reputation online and ensure that they’re part of pertinent discussions. Others are more advanced; from blogger relations, using platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and investigating multimedia PR delivery. Above all we’re recognising how dialogue and response work together in this new digital landscape, enabling us to manage reputation, promote brands and their products, services and values, and ultimately create more dynamic and exciting PR strategies.
Of course, not everything will work for everyone, and there’s still much more to develop and explore. For us, the challenge comes not in identifying these exciting opportunities, but in convincing clients and prospects of the value of making an ongoing investment in digital PR. Measurement is crucial, but delivering the right kind of measurement, especially when the tactics are so new and varied, isn’t easy; but we’re working on it!
