Here, Marina Wood, our PR Account Director, explores how a successful public relations campaign plays a key role in building brand awareness and generating sales leads.
“When I first started my career in public relations, press cuttings were the main way to demonstrate results for clients. These days, PR is integrated with a digital marketing campaign. Now more than ever, companies use it to raise brand awareness, increase traffic to their website and drive sales leads.
So, what is the role of public relations in B2B marketing?
Public relations acts as a crucial communication link between a business and the media, whether that be printed magazines or online. A PR campaign cultivates a positive image and builds relationships with the broadcast, print and online media, plus a company’s stakeholders. This is particularly crucial for B2B companies, where trust and credibility play an essential role in decision-making processes.
Building brand awareness
One of the main objectives of our public relations campaigns is to increase brand visibility through content creation. We achieve this through negotiating thought leadership articles, case studies, blogs and news releases into key magazines, both online and printed. When it comes to thought leadership articles, we write these as in-depth 1000-1500 word generic features that position our clients as the experts.
We also support clients who are taking part in industry events and exhibitions, raising awareness and generating interest in their products and services. This increased visibility helps our clients to generate more traffic to their exhibition stand and website. We also organise any pre- and post-event media coverage, plus arrange influencer events and demonstrations, where required.
Securing features in reputable industry publications and online can significantly boost brand recognition and generate direct enquiries.
Measuring the success of PR campaigns
There are a number of ways that we measure the success and impact of our Public Relations campaigns. These include:
- Media coverage & impressions: The coverage achieved, online and printed, plus the opportunities to be seen by the target audience.
- Website traffic: Through Google Analytics we can report back on increased website traffic for certain blogs, news stories and feature articles.
- Number of backlinks: For many of our clients we monitor and report on the number of backlinks we generate. We aim for high Domain Authority online magazines and websites, which have the greatest impact on our clients’ SEO.
- Social Media engagement: Where we also manage social media campaigns for clients, we analyse shares, likes and engagements, as well as new followers on platforms such as LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook. We report back to our clients on a monthly basis.
For some of our campaigns, for an additional budget, we utilise the latest media monitoring software. These provide enhanced facilities for tracking media coverage and sentiment, allowing companies to assess the quality of their media coverage.
Impact on the bottom line
Ultimately, the success of a public relations campaign can be measured by its impact on sales and revenue. A well-executed PR campaign can generate high-quality leads by attracting potential clients through building brand awareness. The end result is sustainable long-term business growth.
It’s not a case of can a B2B company afford to run a Public Relations campaign, but can it afford not to..?
Dragonfly Public Relations is a dedicated Yorkshire-based PR agency specialising in construction PR and digital marketing services for the manufacturing industry.
To a free consultation, drop our team a line hello@dragonflypr.co.uk or call 0114 349 5341.
