What is Digital PR? (And Why US Brands Are STILL Missing Out)
Is Digital PR the Key to Success in Today’s Marketing Landscape?
“Digital PR” gets thrown around a lot. But half the time, people still don’t actually know what it is. It’s not just pitching press releases. It’s not just chasing backlinks. And it’s definitely not your PR team from 2005.
Done right, Digital PR is how brands get seen, talked about, clicked on, ranked, and remembered all at once.
In the UK, it’s been part of SEO and content strategies for years. But in the US? It’s still finding its feet. And that’s exactly why it matters right now.
Because the brands who crack it early over here? They’ll win faster. While everyone else is still playing catchup.
Digital PR continues to skyrocket, with searches for "digital PR agency" increasing by 1,119% over the past year in the US, many businesses find themselves at a troubling crossroads: how to actually craft compelling digital stories. Too often, U.S. brands remain stuck in the past, relying on clunky, siloed strategies and PR teams operating like it’s still 2005, focusing solely on big coverage while neglecting storytelling that truly connects with an audience.
What is Digital PR?
At its core, Digital PR is about building brand visibility and reputation across the digital space. It’s more than just press releases or social media. It’s about creating something worth talking about. That means developing unique, newsworthy content, diving into original research or data-led stories, and knowing exactly how to pitch them to the right people. It’s relationship-driven for audiences and results-focused for businesses.
For me, Digital PR has meant turning great ideas into headlines and personal stories. It’s about knowing how to shape a story that actually lands and resonates. Not just in a “we got coverage” way, but in a way that builds credibility, drives real SEO impact, and helps your brand show up where it matters. Yes, backlinks are nice, but they’re just the bonus. Digital PR isn’t link building. It’s storytelling with purpose. When done right, it builds authority, earns trust, and supports the way Google and real people prioritize content now user-first through multiple channels.
Creating Moments People Actually Care About: Digital PR Case Studies
Digital PR creates moments people actually care about. It gets people talking and searching for your brand. Just like a strong traditional PR campaign, the best Digital PR sparks conversation across channels, whether it’s being shared on social, debated in comments, or showing up in group chats. Digital PR practiced well creates off-site brand and category signals and links that drive on-site growth.
We’ve seen this play out firsthand. Our Wiener Coinessur campaign where we hired someone to investigate which stadium had the biggest wiener in the MLB didn’t just make people laugh, it delivered real results. The campaign earned 284 media placements from high-authority websites like TimeOut and Yahoo Sports and even sparked a social conversation on The Drew Barrymore Show. As a result BetUS jumped 10 positions in search rankings for MLB-related terms including increasing MLB lines by 9 spots improving MLB odds by 7 spots and climbing MLB betting lines by 7 spots solidifying their presence in the competitive sports betting landscape.
Then there’s Rat Roster, our NBA campaign that let people name their ex after a New York street rat. It earned 153 media placements, and today, the BetUS NBA page ranks in position three for 78 different keywords. Creative Digital PR campaigns have a lasting impact and they unite audiences socially. Rat Roster brought in over 1,000 individual submissions, with people eagerly nominating their exes to become rat basketball stars. These campaigns stuck around, built visibility, and made people search, click, and engage.
Digital PR vs. Traditional PR
At its core, Digital PR isn’t all that different from traditional PR. It just plays on a bigger stage. Reputation building is still an important goal. Just like traditional PR uses storytelling and media influence to shape public perception, Digital PR does the same through content that positions brands as industry leaders across digital channels.
| Traditional PR | Digital PR |
|---|---|
| Focuses on media relationships for print and broadcast | Expands outreach to include high-authority websites, digital publishers, blogs, and creators |
| Coverage is often short-lived and fades quickly | Coverage lives online indefinitely, driving long-term traffic, backlinks, and SEO value |
| Messaging and execution are siloed across PR, social, and brand teams | Aligns PR with SEO, social, and content strategy for unified messaging |
| Impact is difficult to track and quantify | Results are measurable backlinks, traffic, share of voice, and brand authority |
| Aims to spark conversation through traditional press mentions | Sparks and amplifies conversation across social media, search engines, and online newsrooms |
| Primarily impacts one media channel at a time | Activates multiple channels simultaneously search, social, and earned media |
| Disconnected efforts can lead to missed opportunities and inconsistent messaging | Builds momentum across platforms, maximizing the value of a single strong campaign |
| Relies on traditional media for third-party validation | Builds trust through digital validation and authoritative backlinks that boost SEO |
At Rise at Seven, we don’t do Digital PR just to tick the backlink box. We do it to drive real traffic, fuel conversations across platforms, increase branded search demand and most importantly, generate revenue.
What sets our approach apart is simple: We don’t stop at awareness. We measure impact.
Where traditional PR chases headlines and column inches, we create stories that actually move the needle, driving performance on-site, in search, and across social. Integrating our coverage into wider parts of your strategy
That’s why our campaigns don’t just land, they travel. They go viral on TikTok, show up on late-night TV, spark debates on talk shows, and drive people to search exactly what you want to be known for on Google, TikTok, and even ChatGPT.
Find out more about our Digital PR Services.
