The role of a PR agency has rapidly evolved to the point where generating authoritative backlinks to enhance SEO performance is now of equal importance to securing editorial coverage to build a brand.
The game has changed but the principles remain the same – you still need to combine powerful storytelling and excellent media relations to deliver results. That’s why our experienced PR team consists of digital PR strategists through to traditional communications specialists and former journalists.
Based in Leeds, we work extensively across both B2B and B2C markets, delivering impactful PR campaigns for some of the nation’s biggest and best-loved brands.
PR remains one of the most effective ways to build a brand, drive engagement, gain audience trust or simply promote the latest product or service through editorial channels.
Our approach to this is built around fusing creativity, insight and an eye for a story to achieve high profile media exposure in the publications, blogs or broadcast outlets that matter. We know that the right campaign, corporate announcement or timely piece of news-jacking delivers results and elevates brands.
Our approach to any PR campaign is built on building strong, mutually beneficial relationships with the media we’re looking to target.
Being both proactive creatively with the right story or reactive to meet the journalist’s deadline holds the key to securing the volume and quality of coverage or authoritative links we secure for our clients. A great example being our recent campaign for Homesearch.
We have a little black book of contacts across a vast array of B2C and B2B sectors and go the extra mile to maintain them. If we’re presented with a sector or media that we’ve not recently worked with, we know that journalists relationships can be forged in seconds if we provide the right story at the right time.
It’s more than just pitching a story, it’s making sure the journalist, influencer or blogger will want to learn more about our client’s business – creating a hook or event to grab their attention and providing a compelling story that they will want to write about.
We also know that relationships are best forged face-to-face, which is why we focus on securing interviews for our clients through to creating press or influencer events that provide the platform to promote a brand or product innovation.
Digital PR and link acquisition plays a pivotal role within any SEO strategy and has become one of the biggest influencing factors when improving organic visibility and rankings. We recognise the power of a link and the critical trust signals it sends to Google, which is why we deliver digital PR campaigns that enhance SEO performance and spearhead growing search engine visibility, traffic and conversions.
We feel we’ve hit the sweet spot, particularly for forward-thinking brands that recognise the digitally integrated world PR now lives in.
Digital PR is one of the fastest growing techniques in the communications space as it is so critical to building the website links needed to support any effective SEO strategy. It is driven by the major Google algorithm update back in 2014 which was affectionately known as ‘Penguin’ and heavily clamped down on the practice of buying links to influence search ranking positions.
In essence digital PR is a white hat approach to acquiring links to help increase a brand’s online presence, reputation and organic visibility. It relies heavily on producing engaging, informative site content as few online publications are going to link to any website unless there is a compelling reason to do so. The site content must add to the story if it is to earn a link and be of benefit to the publication’s readers.
If digital PR is done correctly, a campaign can land a significant volume of high-quality backlinks to help boost SEO, drive traffic to a client’s website and even directly generate sales or business leads.
The cornerstone to any successful digital PR campaign is great content.
Acquiring authoritative links to enhance SEO performance relies on not only giving the journalist a great story but also a compelling reason to link back to the content on our client’s websites.
Content also encompasses a wider breadth of online material that can be used to help promote a brand through a broader mix of channels than just PR. Videos, blogs, white papers, and even creative graphics are just some of the content marketing tools that we use through channels such as social media to elevate a brand and tell its story.
Most brands are likely to face a crisis at some point.
From a negative online product review to major redundancies, a crisis can come in all shapes and sizes, but can ultimately result in lasting damage to a brand’s reputation that could take years to repair. In some instances, a poorly handled crisis – played out over social media and the press – can even result in business closure.
Finding the right crisis PR partner is essential. We work closely with our clients to establish the necessary level of planning needed to limit the fallout from a crisis when it hits. Whether it’s working through potential scenarios, media training key client personnel, creating a crisis communications strategy or drafting pre-approved statements for the press or social media channels – nothing is left to chance.
If a crisis does strike out of the blue and the client has put no formal planning procedures in place, we’re also able to react and parachute ourselves in to help the brand navigate through the choppy waters ahead.
PR is the perfect vehicle to promote a new consumer product or B2B solution.
From FMCG and finance to technology and digital identity protection, we’ve vast experience of launching products to all forms of online or offline media to generate PR coverage that can directly results in sales or lead enquiries.
We don’t rely on a one-size-fits-all approach to product PR, as we know a journalist briefing on a new B2B technology solution is vastly different to organising an exclusive press and influencer event that enables them to get their hands on the latest consumer gadget.
It’s about choosing the right approach to push a new product to the best target media, via the best channels – at the best time.
You can’t miss the rise of influencers on social media – if there’s a product or service to shout about then there’s somebody hugely relevant to promote it.
Influencer marketing can be a great way to reach target audiences without a full-scale advertising campaign. In its most basic form, it’s paid and organic promotional activity that uses endorsements from influencers to help push a brand, product or service.
The influencer space has boomed in recent years, but we find relevancy and authenticity is key – identifying and matching the right influencer with the right brand. We have experience of working with nano, micro and macro influencers that will champion a brand, product or solution and can even be an advocate for free, provided we give them something in return that is of value to their audience.
We’ve delivered numerous influencer marketing campaigns that have proved hugely effective for the brands we work with.
We’re channel holistic when it comes to approaching any client challenge or brief. That is because we recognise that PR (for example) alone might not be the best fit in terms of achieving an agreed set of marketing objectives or KPIs.
Siloed channel thinking within any marketing strategy simply doesn’t work, which is why we’re laser focused on choosing the best route or routes needed to deliver results.
Two channels which go hand in hand are PR and social media. We’ve worked on countless PR campaigns which wouldn’t have had the same level of impact or success unless we’d integrated them with activity on channels such as Instagram, X or LinkedIn. PR and social media can be the perfect pairing and if utilised together will enable a campaign to be delivered more effectively and amplify it to the next level.
If you’re looking to work with a performance-led marketing communications agency, spanning PR, SEO, paid digital and social media, then get in touch – we’d love to hear from you!
How long does it take to see results from PR?
Once key performance indicators (KPIs) and the first piece of PR content has been approved, the results can be immediate in terms of online and daily print media coverage. Monthly or quarterly trade and consumer titles work a few months in advance and can therefore take longer.
How do you measure PR success?
PR is hugely measurable. From in-depth media coverage analysis to aligning certain digital PR metrics to a defined SEO strategy, it can be as simple or sophisticated as required. It’s always vital to ensure that any KPIs are designed to meet the agreed campaign objectives.
How much input do you need from the client to achieve PR results?
We’ve experience of working with clients that can provide varying levels of input and so therefore know how to flex accordingly. We also invest a lot of time upfront in getting to know the client and their sector so we can become largely self-sufficient. The minimum input we require from any client is sign-off on press materials and a degree of flexibility when it comes to reactive media opportunities.
Is it important to be based in London to deliver PR successfully?
Implementing a PR strategy can be achieved from any geographical location, provided it is within the same time zone. The media are simply looking for a great story that will engage their readers and therefore have no interest in which location it has been sent from.
What is the difference between traditional PR and digital PR?
The two approaches to PR are very similar in terms of tactics and execution. The main point of difference is that digital PR is geared towards online media, to achieve an agreed set of metrics and SEO objectives. Traditional PR can also encompass online media coverage but is more focused on growing brands and raising profile rather than being focused on achieving a link, for example.
