How to build a digital PR strategy
A digital PR strategy decides what you will say, to whom, and why anyone should care. Without one, PR becomes a string of one-off pitches. With one, every campaign builds on the last.
Key takeaways
- Start from business goals and the pages you need to rank.
- Mix always-on tactics with a few bigger campaigns each year.
- Build media lists by topic and journalist, not by outlet size.
- Review results every cycle and double down on what lands.
1. Set goals you can measure
Good PR goals connect to the business: rankings for key pages, awareness in a target market, or authority for a new product category. Write them down with the measures you will use to judge success.
2. Know your audiences
A strategy has two audiences: the people you want to reach, and the journalists who reach them. Map which publications your customers read, then which writers on those publications cover your topics.
3. Choose your mix of tactics
- Always-on expert commentary to stay present in the news
- Two to four data-led campaigns a year for bigger moments
- Reactive PR for breaking stories in your sector
- Link reclamation to capture value from existing mentions
- Supporting tactics like listicle inclusion or broken link building for steady links
4. Plan angles around the calendar
Many stories are seasonal: budgets in January, travel in summer, gifting in autumn. Build a calendar of moments your audience cares about and plan campaigns weeks ahead of each one.
5. Run outreach like a newsroom
Personal, specific pitches win. Send fewer, better pitches to writers who cover the topic, follow up once, and always make assets easy to use: clear data, images and quotes.
6. Measure, learn and repeat
After each campaign, review which angles and outlets delivered coverage and links, which pages benefited, and what you would change. Feed those lessons into the next quarter.
Frequently asked questions
How often should we run campaigns?
Most brands do best with always-on commentary plus a bigger campaign every quarter or so.
Do we need an agency?
Not necessarily. An agency brings journalist relationships and capacity; an in-house team brings product knowledge. Many brands combine both.
What is an SEO PR strategy?
A PR strategy planned with search goals in mind: which pages need links and which topics you want to be known for.