B2B digital PR can be difficult to get right. Press releases aside, many digital PRs struggle for distribution ideas. Although press releases are a helpful way to quickly distribute news, many see that as the end of the story. This isn’t the case.
Many other (free!) techniques exist for marketers who recognise that their job isn’t over once a press release has been published.
Here are 5 distribution channels to utilise that will help B2B companies and PRs take their brand to the next level…
Quora
Founded in 2009, Quora is a question and answer based social media platform that now boasts over 300 million monthly users. This makes it a fantastic marketing opportunity.
Anyone can post a question on Quora, so questions range from the obscure to the obvious. By using Quora’s search function to look up industry keywords, you’ll likely find a business decision maker looking for advice.
Answering their question with relevant advice will position you as an authority on the subject matter and heighten your brand exposure. Add a
link to your website, or a relevant blog post, to direct high-quality traffic and leads to your website. This will also help your website from an SEO point of view by providing all-important backlinks.
#PRrequest & #JournoRequest
Following the hashtags #prrequest and #journorequest on Twitter will mean that you’re provided with an almost endless amount of media opportunities.
Journalists and writers use the hashtags to look for information, quotes, stories and data for articles and campaigns they’re working on. If you have relevant information for them, send them a link to an asset or blog post that provides what they’re looking for.
In return, journalists often reference the source of the information and link back to the original asset or web page. If they don’t, don’t be afraid to ask (politely). Even Dominic Cummings has been known to request asset backlinks in one of his tweets.
Providing relevant information for other publications will boost brand awareness and more organic backlinks will improve your SEO ranking and overall website traffic.
Using the #prrequest and #journorequest hashtags also provide added perks. These include widening your list of relevant media contacts. Even if you see a media request that has expired, as long as it’s relevant to your sector, send the journalist an introductory email. They may come back to you if future opportunities arise.
Social Media
Facebook currently has over 2.6 billion monthly users, Instagram has 1 billion and Twitter has over 353 million. LinkedIn has slightly less with 310 million, however research shows that LinkedIn is responsible for 80% of B2B leads generated from social media.
These are huge numbers – reach out to them.
Simply reposting a press release headline and a static image generally won’t cut through the noise on social media. Share videos and infographics, add emojis to posts, create reels and post content into specific industry groups to reach potential customers and journalists who may want to cover your news.
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking site, so it’s no surprise that B2B marketers channel a lot of their time and energy into content marketing on the website. “How to” posts perform the best on LinkedIn, whilst video is the most shared type of content. These are good stats to know when targeting decision makers on the platform.
Newsletters & Email Marketing
Email marketing is a tried and tested way of reaching business customers. In fact, data shows that 93% of B2B marketers use email within their marketing strategy. What’s more, 40% of B2B marketers say newsletters are the most critical aspect to their content marketing success. So, if you’re not leveraging email marketing as part of your content strategy, you’re missing out.
Newsletters and marketing emails lead to heightened awareness of your brand. In turn this leads to enquiries, which eventually turn into leads and customers.
Sometimes, adding attention grabbing assets to a website isn’t enough. You need to put the assets directly in front of customers, which is why email marketing works so well – it’s a direct way to engage with customers and/or potential customers.
Influencers
TrustRadius research shows that user reviews are one of the most trusted and influential information sources for B2B buyers. Following this, it makes sense to introduce influencer marketing into your B2B PR strategy.
Typically thought of as a B2C marketing tactic, influencer marketing can be highly beneficial for B2B businesses too. A leading industry figure reviewing your product will help to generate buyer trust and allows for creative collaborations too.
This strategy is beneficial for link building and content promotion. Journalists are more likely to cover your news if a trustworthy industry figure can be seen backing your campaign.
Final Thoughts On Further Distribution
A PRs job is not finished once a press release has been published and distribution emails have been sent. New opportunities continuously arise.
A 5-year-old campaign might just provide the data that a journalist is currently looking for, or social media might pose the perfect opportunity for reposting a “how to” guide from 4 months ago.
Keep an eye on all aspects of digital and the different distribution channels to promote your content and generate coverage.
To find out how to add creativity into B2B PR campaigns, take a look at one of our previous blog posts: Digital PR For the B2B Market Doesn’t Have to be Boring