10 Yetis Insight Blog: 7 Mistakes PRs Are Making

As the practice of public relations moves so quickly, it can be hard to stay ahead of the curve for professionals working in the industry. It’s important to deliver for clients – but how? And what about when even they don’t know what they want? It’s the role of the PR professional to know the score, be able to advise on the best tactics and, in certain cases, provide guidance on the objectives and expectations of the client in the first place.

Not only does the industry move at a pace, but we also hear all kinds of horror stories from clients who’ve worked with a range of small and big agencies, traditional and non-traditional, PR and SEO and have come away not quite sure on how it went, at best.

Even with the best of intentions, the (mine)field of PR and certainly PR for SEO can be a difficult one to navigate. Here are some of our observations from the Yeti HQ, in terms of what mistakes are being made by PR agents…

1.Neglecting the SEO potential of a PR campaign
Some clients just want to be in the spotlight and they don’t care about the link equity or Google rankings – and that’s fine. But as a PR professional, it’s important to understand the SEO power and potential of a great PR campaign, and even to enlighten clients as to the benefit of climbing those slippery pages. After all, it’s never going to hurt to have a better ranking.

2.Using just one platform
Always think bigger when coming up with PR ideas and consider the options to maximise the hooks, so that you can give journalists a more rounded concept. This will encourage pick up by creating additional content formats which journalists are always keen to use and make sure you’ve made the most of your PR idea. Venture beyond the standard press release to consider extending the idea with a microsite, a social campaign, stunt or video, for instance.

3.Celebrating online coverage with no links
It’s all well and good to celebrate coverage, but a lot of the time journalists will talk about your findings or news, without linking to (or sometimes even mentioning) the client. This may be a publication policy, in which case there isn’t much you can do to escape it, but you may also find that they are happy to add in that mention or link if you ask.

4.Confusing followed links and affiliate links
There’s a big difference between securing a followed link and an affiliate link – sadly, Google doesn’t assign the links the same SEO value. Reporting to a client that you’ve scored some fab followed links, only to be informed that they are actually affiliate links, is pretty miserable. PR agents should always check ahead of time and make sure they are sure of how to tell the difference.

5.Neglecting Journo Requests
Too many PR agents write off the hashtag #journorequest, to the extent that they don’t bother to even check it at all. This is a massive mistake; some of the best coverage we have secured has come off the back of a journalist firing out a quick tweet when in a pinch and looking for some insight or a case study. Many journos are prolific on Twitter and treat it as their first port of call, so monitoring the feed in the background is well worth it. There are also some great groups on Facebook too, so PRs should keep an eye out on other social media beyond Twitter.

6.Keep an eye on the trends
It’s easy to get so engrossed in your own agency and clients, that you don’t keep as close an eye as you should on the industry as a whole. This can lead to stale campaigns, old-news ideas and becoming out of touch. It’s important to keep inspiration flowing and keep up with your competitors, so agents should always look to be aware of other campaigns that are running and what new techniques and tactics are working in the field, to help them plan their own activity.

7.Not picking up the phone
This is the last, but certainly not least, point on the list and one that has divided the industry. Many PRs insist that journalists are too busy and don’t want to receive calls – and that’s true, for some. Many others appreciate a call and, providing it’s well targeted and timely, it can make or break your activity’s results and ensure your story doesn’t get lost in an overcrowded inbox.