Post Penguin, SEOs are keen to learn the dark arts of PR. While public relations professionals show little interest in how their work influences search, online marketers have slowly but surely been learning basic PR skills. And they are doing quite a good job, I might add.<\/p>\n
Blogger outreach, press releases and infographics are all core PR tactics which SEOs are using to acquire links.
\nWhile there is now a flood of poor quality content out there thanks to eager SEOs, and even talk of some blogs no longer taking guest posts because of spammy media outreach, there is also some good work happening too. Some great work in fact.<\/p>\n
SEOs are great at learning new things. It is in their DNA to be self taught and acquire knowledge. As I\u2019ve worked in PR for a long, long time (too long?), I thought I\u2019d share six things that I think SEOs should really know about PR, but don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Forget press releases and infographics. Focus on the story instead.<\/p>\n
Create a narrative and then tell it in as many ways possible. Yes, press releases and infographics might be nice tactics but some journalists would prefer a well written email instead of a press release, or a professionally designed report, rather than an infographic. Give the right content to the right people at the right time.<\/p>\n
Phone calls work. They might be despised by journalists but a well planned, researched short and punchy phone call will secure you coverage.<\/p>\n
Go and meet a journalist or a blogger. Go and visit their office. Take them out for lunch. Follow them on Twitter and chat about things that interest them. Don’t hide behind emails.<\/p>\n
The same goes for blogger engagement.<\/p>\n
You might not always be able to meet a contact but email should be the last resort after phone contact or a face to face meeting.<\/p>\n
The night editor has very little to do comparatively, so call them and ask them to put the link in.<\/p>\n
To incentivise them, offer then a freebie. Send a pizza or a curry to their office. Seriously, it works.<\/p>\n