Unpacking Siege Media’s New Digital PR Approach with Ross Hudgens

After nearly seven years of working alongside Ross Hudgens, the founder of the esteemed content marketing agency Siege Media, I am excited to share insights from our latest conversation. Ross, accompanied by Emily Campbell-Snidal, the VP of Content Marketing, recently discussed their innovative “product-led digital PR” strategy on a podcast, shedding light on its workings, challenges, and effective tactics.

You can listen to their insightful dialogue about product-led digital PR on their official blog.

The Quick Summary

This article captures the essence of their discussion, emphasizing the transformative elements of Siege Media’s approach.

Product-Led Digital PR: A Brand Builder

The cornerstone of Ross and Emily’s new strategy is the alignment of digital PR campaigns with the product and brand. By optimizing campaigns around search-driven topics that resonate with their product, they generate significant brand awareness while simultaneously enhancing SEO value. This method proves effective as it connects deeply with target audiences.

Shifting Toward Fewer, High-Impact Campaigns

In a landscape where outreach fatigue among journalists is a growing concern, the focus has changed from frequent outreach to fewer but more impactful campaigns. This strategic pivot not only reduces repeated outreach but allows teams to dedicate more energy towards producing high-quality, relevant content. This new methodology champions the idea that quality always surpasses quantity.

Leveraging First-Party Data to Gain Unique Insights

One of the defining features of the product-led approach lies in its usage of original first-party data. Siege Media creates original insights and comprehensive reports using their proprietary data, which can yield backlinks while enhancing content visibility in AI-driven search engines. Algorithms prominently favor unique and primary research, making this approach immensely valuable.

Repurposing Insights for Long-Term Value

To maximize the return on investment (ROI) from data-driven reports, Siege Media emphasizes repurposing insights across various content formats. This involves integrating findings into SEO posts, product pages, and more, empowering each campaign to extend its relevance and benefits across multiple content assets over time.

A Long-Term Strategy for Sustainable Growth

Siege Media stresses the importance of brand building as a long-term strategy rather than seeking immediate link gains. By concentrating on content that elevates brand reputation, businesses can navigate towards a more robust and sustainable PR and SEO impact that compounds over time.

Adapting Outreach Frequency to Industry Standards

This approach can be suitable for various brands, though it is critical to adjust the outreach frequency based on industry norms. For instance, consumer brands might see value in monthly data reports, while B2B companies could thrive with quarterly or annual releases.

Tools and Resources

Here are a few tools referenced during the discussion that can assist in implementing these strategies:

• SurveyMonkey: A user-friendly platform for creating surveys and collecting first-party data.
• Ahrefs: A comprehensive suite of SEO tools for link intent analysis and keyword research.
• Keysearch: A tool that provides balanced keyword difficulty scores to aid in strategy development.
• Positional: This tool offers features for optimizing internal linking structures for enhanced SEO performance.
• Cyrus Shepard’s Internal Linking Study: This study dives into the significance of internal linking strategies and their impact on SEO.
• Orbit Media’s Blogging Statistics Survey: An annual survey revealing insights into blogging trends and statistics.

A Look into the Conversation

During the podcast, Ross shared his reflections regarding the evolving landscape of SEO and digital PR. He expressed initial concerns about Artificial Intelligence’s impact on the industry, yet now sees the potential for positive change.

Ross noted, “I normally wouldn’t pay too much attention to AI overviews, but it’s crucial to acknowledge the shifts and anticipate outcomes. Optimistically, we might find ourselves on the other side of recent pessimism, marked by some of the rarest occurrences in the industry. At worst, I imagined a potential 10 to 20 percent drop in organic traffic. Luckily, things seem to be stabilizing.”

Vince, the host, added context, noting Ross’s earlier studies showing impacts across various clients that aligned with his 10 to 20 percent decrease predictions. Ross then reminisced about their shift away from manual link building, mentioning how building organic link assets proved more effective and cost-efficient.

Ross elaborated, “Initially, we determined that investing directly in the website and brand could yield better results than extensive outreach. However, we have recently recognized the value of strategic outreach again, albeit with a focus on quality over frequency. The aim now is to determine if outreach should occur quarterly or even semi-annually.”

Conclusion

The insights shared by Ross Hudgens and Emily Campbell-Snidal illustrate how Siege Media’s new digital PR approach can revolutionize the way brands connect with their audiences. By harnessing data-driven insights and focusing on impactful campaigns, brands can build long-lasting relationships and achieve sustainable growth. For more insights, don’t hesitate to explore Siege Media’s blog.