If one was to take a look at most of the digital agencies around the country, it would quickly become apparent that most are now engaging in white hat SEO techniques. In actual fact, a lot of these companies look down on black hat methods – suggesting that they are a scam as Google will quickly review their policies, and ultimately take action. Suffice to say, the chances of obtaining a refund from any company that offers a black hat service that then results in you being penalized are low to say the least.
We’re not going to talk about the BBB, or what other avenues you could go down if you think you have been wronged by a digital agency engaging in black hat methods. Instead, today is all about the right things of SEO, and specifically how you can outreach your latest campaign to success.
Step #1 – Check people who have covered similar content
It should go without saying at this point that we’re going to assume you have already prepared your campaign which you are looking to outreach.
Once you have this up your sleeve, you need to check people who have covered similar topics in the past. Usually, this involves checking newspaper websites, before looking to find contact details for the person who has written the piece in the first place. Of course, it doesn’t have to necessarily be a newspaper, it might be the company who cover all of the news in your particular industry. Regardless of the publication, you need that email address, Twitter handle or contact number to make that next move.
Step #2 – Build a relationship with said people
That next move comes in the form of building a relationship with the writer in question. Unfortunately, the days of sending over a piece of content and expecting the person on the other end to cover it immediately are over (in fact, did they ever exist?). Instead, it’s all about those long-lasting relationships, which can ultimately get your content on the pages of all of the relevant publications if you play your cards right.
The best way to build these relationships is through social media. Responding to their updates, or just making small talk, can at least alert them to your presence so you can eventually move onto the final step.
Step #3 – Outreach your content
That final step involves the actual outreach of your content. Now that your relationship with the journalist is built, you can make your move and show them what you have produced.
Of course, even though this relationship exists, you’ve still got to act with a degree of subtlety. It’s worth remembering that they aren’t under an obligation to cover your piece, and you need to give them a reason to do so. This might be highlighting the main points that the content targets, and how this can appeal to the other person’s audience (whether that’s on their social media, or on their publication directly).