The 2025 Digital PR Summit: An insight into digital PR’s biggest secrets
The life and challenges of PR specialists have changed drastically over the last decade, as we move continuously from traditional PR to more digital and SEO based work, the question on everyone’s minds; is how can we keep up?
We attended the Digital PR Summit 2025 by Digitaloft, which brought together an incredible mix of PR professionals, SEO experts, and journalists to share invaluable insight on how to find success in this dramatically changing landscape. Here are our key take-aways.
How to pitch to journalists (from a journalist with 60,000 unread emails)
Certainly, one of the most intriguing perspectives from the Summit was the insight provided by journalists in attendance. From explaining how the pitching process works to internal editors, to revealing what actually makes a good PR pitch, there was a lot to discuss around why or why not your stories are landing. One thing all the journalists could agree on was that being clear and specific about who your experts are and what insight they can offer the journalist specifically. Think of PR like an exchange!
Navigating the world of links and how to create meaningful link reports
Links are definitely a buzzword when it comes to digital PR, but as Google regularly updates and changes its algorithms, what is actually worth paying attention to, and what should we be ignoring? The consensus of the day was building EEAT, through relevant content, both follow and no follow links, and relevant, high domain, and new domain websites. When it came to reporting success, one speaker shared that the focus should really be on priority keyword rankings, increases in traffic (GA4 access), volume of new referring domains, closing the link gap between client and their competitiors, product and category page links, organic conversions, top 3 and top 10 keywrod growth and relevance
Crafting creative campaigns that will actually get signed off
To successfully combine SEO with PR campaigns, it’s important to prioritise the publications you’d want coverage in, ensuring the strategy aligns with where the audience is already engaged. By removing subjectivity through data, you can better assess which publications will cover your content and predict its impact. Start with a solid understanding of the industry and audience before pitching creative ideas to ensure relevance. Always assume the client has no prior knowledge; explain your approach in simple terms, and make sure to show them how it directly benefits their brand. When drafting campaign ideas, write down the headline you think you could realistically achieve. Keep the messaging clear and focused on why the campaign is relevant to the brand. Finally, when pitching, prepare a Q&A, have a clear opinion on your favourite campaign idea, and make sure you're familiar with the room, adapting your approach to the specific audience.
How to nail your PR strategy in the US
To nail your PR strategy in the US, focus on regionalised outreach rather than relying solely on national publications. While national outlets are still valuable, niche publications often offer better-targeted opportunities for engagement. Base your stories on data from reputable sources to add credibility and ensure your message resonates. It’s also important to recognise that lay-offs are significantly disrupting the industry, which may impact how journalists respond to your outreach. When connecting with US journalists, keep your pitches concise—200 words or less—cutting the fluff and delivering valuable, relevant information. Tailor your pitch to match the journalist’s tone and beat, demonstrating you understand their focus and audience. This approach increases the likelihood of your story landing in the right hands and getting the attention it deserves.
