A Guide to Digital PR for eCommerce Brands

5 reasons why your eCommerce brand needs digital PR: 

#1 Builds trust

As mentioned above, digital PR allows eCommerce businesses to feature in respected, highly-relevant publications that help to build trust with target audiences. It also gives you the opportunity to stand out from competitors by providing a platform for your USP.  

Additionally, unlike paid and affiliate links, digital PR links are recognised as a good indicator of your site’s trustworthiness. People are more likely to trust your brand if they see it in a piece that isn’t sponsored. That’s not to say sponsored backlinks aren’t a good thing. It’s important to have a varied backlink profile. Sponsored links tell Google that your site is a business and still drive traffic to your site.

We have helped build trust for our client Hopes Grove Nurseries, regularly providing quotes and shares expert tips and knowledge from their managing director, to the likes of Daily Express, LivingEtc and, Ideal Home, With journalists regularly coming back to ask him to be a source because they, and the audience (potential customers!), trust him. This, of course, goes hand in hand with us pitching to journalists with topical, relevant content we think would be a good fit for them and their readers.

#2 Increases brand awareness 

Tactics like proactive and reactive PR, influencer partnerships, and content marketing can all help to increase brand awareness, reach a wider audience, attract new customers and establish brands as industry leaders.

The above shows that the combined total audience figures for the coverage we secured for our client over month reached 124 million. Which is huge!

#3 Boosts credibility

PR helps eCommerce brands establish credibility by demonstrating their expertise and thought leadership in their industry. By sharing valuable insights and expertise through media interviews, content marketing, and social media, brands can position themselves as authorities and build trust with their target audience. 

Whilst it’s great to receive coverage (and links!) in top tier, high authority press, you must also think about those relevant publications too who have very similar audiences. If relevant sites, like what your site offers, are linking to you, it makes your site more relevant because you’re joining a link network of other sites in a similar niche to yours.  A  mix of both will do wonders for your SEO and backlink profile!

#4 Supports SEO 

Media coverage, backlinks, and content marketing can all help boost SEO and improve search engine rankings. By generating high-quality backlinks from reputable sources, eCommerce brands can improve their website's authority and visibility in search results.

But digital PR is not just about building links to your homepage. A well thought through digital PR strategy will help you to build links pointing to your product and category pages, helping you rank for products and relevant keywords on search engine results pages (SERPs). This is great as customers will be able to find your products, without knowledge of your brand or that you sell the products they are looking for.
 

#5 Drives sales

Influencer partnerships, reviews, and content marketing can help drive sales and revenue for eCommerce brands. By leveraging the reach and credibility of influencers and third-party media, brands can attract new customers and convert them into loyal customers.

Take a look at how we helped our client see a 363% increase in organic sales, resulting in a +6,977% gross ROI by implementing a combined Digital PR and SEO strategy. We compiled a series of expert-focused content pieces that would bolster the site but also went on to secure over 160 backlinks from top-tier publications, including Country Living, Express, Gardening Etc, The Independent and more. This all helped to increase the site’s backlinks and authority, which ultimately lead to higher rankings and outranking their competitors in organic search. 

Top Digital PR Strategies for eCommerce Brands:

#1 Media relations

Journalists are always in search of interesting and inspirational stories to attract more attention to their publications. Therefore, it’s a good idea to join hands with journalists to write compelling brand stories. 

By pitching relevant stories and expert commentary, brands can secure media coverage that helps build credibility and reach a wider audience to help sell your products and get them seen! 

It’s important to remember to be human in your approach too. This means being transparent and honest in all communications from the subject lines you use (not clickbaity)  to the press releases, content and pitches that you write. This is vital in building trust and authentic relationships with influencers and media outlets. They’ll be more likely to come back to you (and trust you!)  to provide expert advice and cover your product news

It’s worth noting here that your brand story should address the five W’s: 

• Who are the key people in your story? If you are writing a press release to help leverage your new product, it would be good to include a quote from the CEO or a product manager.
• What is your story about? Have you launched a new product or changed it? Is it about the rise in sales of a particular product which could be down to the launch of a new TV show, for example (i.e., sales of Wisteria have skyrocketed at a plant company due to the numerous scenes in Bridgerton which feature the popular plant)  Or have you just stepped up your customer experience?
• Where did the events mentioned in your story take place? Did your brand extend its services to a new location or new audiences?
• When did it happen? Did the launch happen recently, or is it about to? If it’s about to, send a press release or pitch to a journalist ahead of time! 
• Why should it matter to your audience? Are your customers being offered a new wing of services, or is it benefiting their experience differently?

#2 Influencer partnerships 

Partnering with influencers who have a significant following can help increase brand awareness and drive sales. By creating sponsored content or hosting influencer events, brands can leverage the reach and credibility of influencers to attract new customers.

#3 Content marketing 

Creating valuable content that educates and engages customers can help build trust and authority for eCommerce brands. By sharing expert insights, top tips, trends, product tutorials, and industry news, brands can position themselves as thought leaders and attract a loyal following.  With this, it’s important to remember to show empathy and understanding towards customers' needs and challenges within every piece of content you write and offer them personalised solutions that address their specific concerns.

#4 Social media management

There’s no denying that the world is social. With a count of 3.8 billion people, almost 49% of the global population are active social media users.  That’s why managing social media accounts and engaging with followers is an essential aspect of PR for eCommerce brands. By creating a consistent brand voice, that has a conversational and relatable tone in all communcations,  and responding to customer inquiries and feedback, or announcing product launches -  brands can build a loyal following and improve customer satisfaction. Invest in Your PR Outreach Tools.

Fortunately, to do all of the above, you can count on a few tools that can help you with your Digital PR marketing efforts.

#1 Twitter! #JournoRequest

This is a fantastic way to source PR opportunities for your brand and often land yourself in top-tier publications! It also helps to connect with journalists and form lasting relationships! 

#2 Exploding Topics

This monitors searches and shopping results from the web and identifies trending topics. You can use the relevant topics discovered here to create value-adding content.

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#3 BuzzStream

BuzzStream allows you to create one template to achieve all your outreach with just one click. Entering your key terms in the search box will pull up a list of potential bloggers, key influencers, and journalists.

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Key Takeaways

In summary, Digital PR is an essential tool for eCommerce brands looking to build a positive public image, attract new customers, and establish themselves as industry leaders. 

By adopting effective strategies and a human approach, brands can build trust, credibility, and loyalty with their target audience, ultimately leading to increased sales and revenue.

Looking for some support with your next Digital PR strategy? Get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.