Three Top Tips for B2B Digital PR Success

Without a solid foundation and a competent strategy behind it, your B2B Digital PR programme will crumble to the ground. 

It’s the reason why we always end our initial conversations about PR support with the same question - “What does success look like to you?”. 

It’s such an obvious question, but it is absolutely vital to establish this right from the outset as the answer isn’t always the same.

For example, a newly-fledged startup might simply be looking for a cost-effective B2B Digital PR programme that boosts its brand awareness, gets its name out into the market and builds momentum over time. 

A large enterprise, however, might be looking to target ‘VIP’ titles to raise the profile of its CEO or engage an analyst relations programme or want event support.

But despite the end objective, the process of building media relations is always necessary and can be honed over time using a few basic building blocks:

1. Find the right audience

It’s sounds so obvious it’s stupid, but defining the audience is absolutely vital and has to be first outlined before delivering a B2B Digital PR campaign.

Buyer personas work wonders here, as a lot of the information already researched can help identify who the audience is and therefore where the B2B Digital PR programme should be looking to get results.

For example, being a technology company isn’t enough. What geographies does the business primarily target? Are there certain vertical markets it’s particularly strong in? What job role and industry are they targeting in marketing campaigns?

A business involved in farming-tech won’t find much value in being covered in a healthcare-tech magazine, not to mention the journalist who’s receiving it either - which leads onto the next point.

2. Be targeted in your approach

Pitching to a journalist is tough. Most journalists will have a particular ‘beat’, or topic area, that they cover. For example, trade editors involved in manufacturing or engineering will only be interested in stories that cover those industries. 

If it’s a national news title, there will typically be one or a group of journalists that cover certain angles, such as technology or sport.

Writing for the media? Download our free guide with helpful tips here

This approach also supports the quantity vs quality argument. Would you rather have 100s of coverage items appear in outlets no one’s ever heard of before, or that one shining piece of news in a VIP title read by millions?

Linking a B2B Digital PR programme to marketing, it’s the quality and relativity of backlinks to the website that helps boost performance, not the quantity of them. Another reason why a targeted approach is important rather than a ‘spray and pray’ one.

3. Be different

It’s almost impossible to be unique, but not different. Journalists are interested in the new, the  interesting and the undiscovered, so creating stories that relate to these points is crucial to getting covered in the press.

Journalists also love opinions, so don’t just quote stats and facts they can find with a quick Google search. Providing a particular viewpoint on a hot topic and why/how it will affect the industry is ten times more valuable to journalists to help build the story.

If regularly coming up with new angles is proving difficult, there are various other methods at your disposal. Create a short market research survey on your target audience to create your own headlines, or offer a journalist an invitation to speak to a media spokesperson on a breaking news story.

No one ever got anywhere by doing what was done before, so think outside the box.

B2B Digital PR success

Any B2B Digital PR programme will need to focus on the right audience, targeted at them directly, and be able to cut through the noise and find something unique to talk about.

These are the basic principles to any campaign, but they can go a long way in leading you to success.

And remember - it means nothing unless you can prove it, so make sure you’re actively measuring every part of the PR activity.

Click here to read our definitive guide on measuring B2B Digital PR