COVID-19 threw the whole world off-balance. Businesses had to alter the way they were run, and brands had to adapt to the tense climate. Marketing strategies had to be pushed aside. Companies paused paid campaigns and updated their content to display sensitivity amid the crisis.
A Healthcare PR agency can help brands in the sector adapt to these uncertain times we are currently experiencing. A Kantar study showed that 92% of people think brands can keep advertising during the pandemic. 78% reported that they would like brands to assist them in their daily activities. Digital PR offers businesses exposure that is relevant during this challenging period.
Aside from PR, healthcare brands need to take their online presence seriously. Search engine optimisation (SEO) has rapidly become an invaluable tool that is used to get traffic for websites. Combining PR and SEO elements during COVID-19 has so many benefits for healthcare organisations. We get into detail about this here.
Managing Digital Strategy During the COVID-19 Crisis
The coronavirus pandemic brought along movement restrictions which caused a sudden disappearance in traditional marketing channels. Numerous businesses were still testing digital marketing waters when lockdown started. Many had not even gotten around to this new form of reaching customers.
The economic upheaval due to Coronavirus means that marketers have to devise innovative techniques for pulling in sales. If not, brands will suffer. Though the cost-saving strategy might help, it is still necessary for businesses to sustain a strong presence during catastrophes.
If your marketing budget seems too great, you can focus on more important aspects and shelf the others. People are surfing the internet more than ever because they are spending more hours indoors. Also, there is a high demand for information on COVID-19. Healthcare brands can use an SEO agency such as Session Media to help drive their organic traffic and see a visible improvement in a company’s search engine results ranking for particular keyword phrases that they are trying to rank for.
How PR Can Improve SEO?
PR is an excellent way through which brands can build awareness. With it, businesses can get the public aware of their products and create an impeccable image for themselves. Search marketing has evolved into an indispensable aspect of PR. SEO’s role is not only limited to driving in traffic, but it also improves the quality of traffic because prospects are better targeted.
Do not expect to see immediate results from SEO; consider it a long-term investment. The steps below give insight into the journey to better reach and conversion.
Backlinking is a great way to increase your search engine ranking with a few keywords. Backlinks are links to your page from other websites. Search engines consider them an upvote on your content, and it is valuable SEO currency.
However, backlinks from poorly ranking websites do not fool search engines anymore. They must be acquired from top-tier, editorial sites that are related to your brand. Gaining them for your selected keyword is among the most effective ways to improve your site’s ranking. To obtain them, any on-page content that is created has to be engaging, unique, and relevant to the website that it is going to be placed on.
Referral Traffic from Third-Party
When internet users search for products without keying in the brand, businesses are likely to rank higher if they have a lot of relevant backlinks. Media placements are the way through which most of the most powerful backlinks are earned and the links from media or news websites can carry a lot of link authority, trust and relevance.
Healthcare PR agencies can help generate exciting and unique campaigns for their clients, and then this can lead to guest posts being created and linked on authoritative websites that are industry-focused regarding the services that a client offers within their field. Since COVID-19 is the current issue, posts can be about that aspect to generate backlinks to the client’s brand name.
Previous PR Reclamation
Previous PR reclamation is an easy and efficient way to acquire backlinks. Check out media outlets that have featured your brand before with the help of SEO agencies and they can then get in contact with websites that currently do feature a backlink to their client’s website and request a backlink to improve their client’s brand credibility.
This process can be completed through any means of your choice, be it email, phone calls or social platforms. Although sites are not obliged to accept these requests, it is worth trying. Also, forging relationships will provide a better chance of getting requests accepted in the future.
If healthcare brands were reluctant about incorporating SEO elements into their PR, COVID-19 has made it necessary. It is not only effective but relatively easy to access and implement. There is no reason for brands to hold on to older ways of creating sales funnels when digital tools repeatedly prove to be even better.
