Digital vs. Traditional PR

When it comes to public relations, people have probably asked themselves this question at least once: digital PR, or traditional PR?

This question is the embodiment of the change that PR has faced in the 21st century, thanks to the evolution of the field of digital marketing. Some of the most successful companies have decided that embracing digital PR means getting a broader audience that can’t be reached with traditional PR strategies.

The Differences

The best way to really understand what digital public relations mean, it’s important to highlight the differences between the two fields.

With traditional PR, brands are using the marketing strategies to cover the audiences that follow magazines, newspapers, along with TV and radio stations. Meanwhile, with digital PR, a brand can easily and effectively boost its visibility and its presence.

Another difference is the ability to measure the impact of PR campaigns. With digital PR campaigns, it’s very easy to take note and measure the impact that a brand new campaign has on an audience. The responses are almost instantaneous, thanks to social media platforms. It’s easy to track and monitor everything, and then make a solid report that shows the value of the campaign that had been presented.

The next key difference between these two fields is the roles of the influencers. This is one of the key elements when it comes to digital PR and one that has great power over the audience. With just a single post from an influencer, a brand can make it or break it with people, and making close relationships with the influencers is a big element here.

The Similarities

The way that traditional and digital PR takes on brand awareness, PR crises, as well as reputation management, is wildly different. In this sense, we can easily see digital PR as the next evolutionary step from the traditional PR, with the biggest difference being that all of the strategies are simply tailored to the various digital media outlets. Similarity?

Another similarity that digital and traditional PR share is the fact that both types of advertising are very heavily focused on stories. The days when simply showing a brand new product and expecting an increase in sales have long since passed.

Customers these days have a million different products and services that they can choose from, which means having a meaningful connection with the audience is the key element in getting more customers. And the expertise of both the traditional as well as the digital PRs is what can really shine in this field because crafting a captivating story that really resonates is not an easy task.

While the field of digital PR seems to be growing more and more with each passing day, there’s still plenty of room for growth with traditional public relations strategies. A  successful brand is one that can fully take advantage of both of these tactics in order to maximize the benefits that they offer.