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public relations for IT consultants

Your Guide to Digital PR for IT Consultants

Jacob Brain

Author

As the digital world continues to overhaul the daily life of the IT consultant, traditional public relations strategies have been slowly replaced by digital PR. Traditional public relations has been a staple of the business world for the past century.

The accepted tradition of diamond engagement rings? It started as a public relations campaign put on by De Beers. The white wedding dress? That didn’t start until the 1800s when Queen Victoria wore one in a bold example of a personal public relations campaign. You can even go so far as to say that the Boston Tea Party was the greatest publicity stunt of all time- even changing the course of history.

But as the digital revolution of the 21st century has slowly re-shaped the business world, traditional public relations has changed as well. Digital public relations is the IT Consultants best friend when it comes to generating leads, boosting website traffic, and generating brand awareness.

Digital vs. Traditional Public Relations

When most professionals think of public relations for IT consultants, events like VMWorld and Google I/O may come to mind, along with press releases, radio advertisements, print ads, and more. But digital public relations for IT consultants takes a different route. Digital public relations focuses on brand awareness and lead generation using digital strategies. These strategies can boost the SEO ranking of your website, help you pick up backlinks from relevant sites, and create a media splash related to your business.

A great digital public relations strategist for IT consultants will have contacts within relevant tech-focused media companies and have outstanding relationships with top bloggers, influencers, and more. Just as a traditional public relations strategist needs to have established connections within an industry, a digital public relations consultant needs to have the same connections but in the digital world.

5 Digital PR Strategies

Digital public relations strategies for IT consultants differ from traditional public relations strategies by a large margin. Whereas a traditional public relations consultant would help you host a large event at a local tech hub, a digital public relations consultant would assist in designing and promoting a webinar. Other digital public relations for IT consultants strategies include a backlinking campaign, identifying opportunities for advertisements on relevant websites, guest blogging, creating press releases, and more.

A high-quality backlinking campaign can be crucial for an IT consultant. This strategy involves using established relationships to reach out to other websites to provide guest blogs or input your information into a vendor directory. Each option should provide a link back to your website, which will help boost your SEO ranking.

Another digital public relations tactic for IT consultants includes webinars. Designing and promoting a webinar is very similar to promoting an in-person event, however, it does come with unique challenges. When hosting a webinar, you need to ensure that your hosting program (like Oneclick.chat or Zoom) is able to accommodate the number of attendees you’re expecting. The program needs to be user-friendly, easy to install, and allows for interaction with attendees. For example, ensure that your webinar allows viewers to ask questions and answer polls or surveys.

Today’s press releases look very different from the press releases that were used in traditional public relations circles. Digital press releases are distributed directly on your website, as well as sent out to reporters, media contacts, and industry journals. Whereas traditional press releases led to an interview and story, oftentimes digital press releases are printed directly to a news outlet. Therefore, in digital public relations for IT consultants, press releases are written more like a news story. It’s important to remember that reporters and media contacts are receiving hundreds of emails on a daily basis, many of which are asking for press coverage via a press release. To make your story stand out, and to make life easier for the journalists, it’s important to write high-quality, story-like content for your press release.

How Digital PR Benefits IT Consultants

Digital public relations for IT consultants has big benefits. More than half of consumers will search for reviews and recommendations about a business online before buying. The bigger your digital presence, the easier clients can find you online. A great backlinking strategy can boost your SEO ranking until you’re on the first page of Google. Press releases can lead to a spike in website traffic and increased brand awareness. The more media coverage you achieve, the better your reputation in the business world.

Start Your Digital PR Campaign

To start your digital public relations campaign for IT consultants, it’s important to have a clear set of goals in your head. What are you hoping to accomplish with your digital PR campaign? Are you looking for more website traffic, a higher SEO ranking, or just more brand awareness? Your goals for your digital PR campaign will have a big influence on what strategies your public relations consultant will use.

Next, search for the right public relations consultant for your goals. For example, if your goal is to boost your SEO rankings, then search for an agency or individual that specializes in SEO and has experience with the IT industry. It’s very important to work with a specialist for the IT industry- you wouldn’t want to hire a B2B consultant for the retirement industry to work for you. The IT industry is specialized and unique- you need public relations for IT consultant.

New North works specifically with IT consultants. We know the ins and outs of the industry, your organizational jargon, and, most importantly, who your customers are. If you’re looking to work with a public relations strategist who understands your role as an IT consultant, learn more about our public relations services here.

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