Editorial Articles

While many millions still choose to get their news and information from traditional ‘mainstream’ offline sources like TV, newspapers and radio, many millions more are getting their information from the web.

Finding breaking news or trusted product reviews from blogs and social media sites is now the ‘norm’. So why is it that many PR agencies are still way behind when it comes to exploiting the web’s growing position as a key influencer and opinion former?

By not tapping into these huge audiences, many agencies are effectively failing in their remit to influence a client’s key audiences. If that wasn’t reason enough to change their ways, many could also be missing out on some much needed revenues – those which deal with online campaigns.

Simply unaware of the role online plays in reputation management, it’s little wonder that more and more clients are awarding online campaign work – effectively traditional PR and communications tasks – to digital agencies.

Why is Search relevant for PR?

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) isn’t just about getting a client to the top of Google’s results for the right search terms. It’s about knowing how to react when they appear at the top of results for the wrong search terms. Try searching for ‘Habitat Twitter fail’ or ‘Dell Hell’ for examples.
During the link-building phase of a search marketing campaign, where we improve the ‘visibility’ of a client in search results to increase traffic or online sales, we monitor and track web pages, blogs and forum comments for mentions of our clients’ brands. This proactive approach works well in encouraging link ‘authority’ on search engines.

But occasionally, while tracking and monitoring all instances of a brand –known as ‘buzz monitoring’ - we find instances of less than positive content appearing in blogs, forum comments and even Twitter feeds.

Brand owners can try to contact the site owner in an attempt to convince them to’soften’ content, or take the page down. Alternatively, if the page is doing something more serious – like breaking the law – a legal route can explored via the courts.

But if neither of these options are suitable, because of budgets, or the potential of even further damage, alternative measures are required, namely, ethical search optimisation techniques to reduce the offending web page’s visibility.

Gauge moods with Google

Maintenance and measurement can help your agency stand out from the crowd. Why bother with social media or search unless your campaigns are supported by monthly metric and analytics reporting on the ROI, all of which can help you steer campaigns as the ‘buzz’ grows?
When it comes to measuring quantitative and qualitative data for online campaigns, Google provides a great range of top level – and free - services.

Google’s ‘Show Options’ tab, lets you tap into online forum conversations and gauge the ‘buzz’ about any given topic indicating how many posts were made, its author and when the last post was made.

Need to know how well a client’s product or service has been received by customers? A ‘reviews’ filter lets you see all recent reviews of that product, along with the quotes Google thinks provide a good insight into whether it’s a positive, negative, or neutral review.

Many of these services already exist in various forms as part of enterprise software or web applications aimed at the marketing, communication and PR sectors. But as is the case with many of Google’s more ambitious services, the real value lies in the fact that they’re all on offer in one place, they’re easy to use and, perhaps most importantly, they’re free.

As communication professionals, forward thinking PR organisations can help steer or even manage the digital comms strategy of their clients. Services in social media campaigns, search visibility, online reputation management, tracking and measurement all offer potential crossover benefits for digital agencies and PR agencies alike.

Author: Dan Williamson, Head of Search and Content, Cimex