Like Rome, successful brands aren’t built in a day. You start with a strong foundation: your purpose, strategy and even your business goals. Then come the roads, the houses and the landmarks: your products, services and the team driving your sales. But what about your community? Those who don’t just pass through but settle, stay loyal and make it their ‘home.’

In today’s fast-paced world, it’s tempting to just chase the quick wins. But the brands that last and are loved are built with consistency, credibility and connection. And that, my friend, takes time.

At Reflect Digital, we leverage the best of both worlds. Our digital PR strategy helps brands stay front of mind, but also top of search, by striking the perfect balance between emotional storytelling and performance-driven results. Blending human-first stories and data-led content, with performance-minded distribution - such as SEO optimisation and high-quality link-building - our consistent media coverage builds authority with the right audiences and trust that consumers (and algorithms) value.

But why does this matter now?

Consumer choice is vast, attention fragmented and loyalty harder to earn, with 69% of UK adults saying brand trust plays a crucial role in their purchase decisions. And with Gullup’s research revealing that 70% of decisions are emotionally driven, remaining culturally relevant and building human connections is key to lasting relationships with customers.

Beyond building those emotional connections, brands must also understand how AI is transforming search behaviour. The traditional search funnel has collapsed into intent-driven ‘micro moments’, meaning consumers jump in and out of search based on their needs and motivations. Consumers expect relevant, trustworthy and easy to digest content right now, and brands must be prepared to show up at all stages of the consumer journey - whether in research, comparing options or right at the purchase decision.

With Google now prioritising E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness), brands that focus on building credibility, visibility and emotional resonance over time can gain a serious edge. While the same AI tools will be widely used by competitors to optimise content, long-term brand building, through digital PR, is what truly sets brands apart.

To help you understand how to build a brand strategy with Digital PR, we have outlined a step by step guide below.

How To Implement Digital PR Into Long-Term Brand Building

Set clear goals and KPIs aligned with SEO & marketing strategies

Aligning Digital PR with SEO and marketing objectives ensures it becomes a core part of any brand strategy. The key question here is, what do you want to achieve with digital PR? Likely answers will probably centre around short-term wins to boost revenue growth and sales leads, but goals should also account for long-term KPIs, including reputation building and brand awareness, such as being the leading authority on a subject that impacts your industry or improving your brand's visibility on a cultural stance.

At Reflect Digital, we develop internal and client-facing six-month roadmaps which align with the work of our SEO department. They outline clear tactics on how campaigns will be achieved and allow us to plan ahead in line with news hooks and key dates.

Undertake competitor & benchmarking analysis overlaid with a behavioural lens

Gaining knowledge and understanding of where your brand’s biggest competitors are showing up and what stories they are telling can help you draft campaigns that are not only relevant but psychologically compelling. It allows you to have a voice on the biggest trends in your sector, while identifying untapped opportunities (areas that your competitors aren’t commenting on) where your expertise will be of value to journalists, consumers and now AI.

We recommend undertaking backlink analysis through Majestic and social listening and sentiment analysis through the likes of Meltwater. But don’t stop there - layer this with behavioural analysis and dig deeper into how and why certain stories land. This includes looking at how other brands behave through their PR tactics and content, for example, scarcity vs emotional storytelling vs data-led content, as well as headlines and formats. Undertake a PESTLE analysis, which involves examining how Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental factors impact a brand strategy. And last but not least, utilise tools such as Google Trends, Google Keyword Planner and TikTok trends to uncover any spikes in online searches and ensure seasonal relevance.

Hold regular brainstorming sessions

Holding bi-weekly all-agency creative brainstorms is a great way to bounce around ideas for campaigns and new client pitches. We encourage the team to use AI tools to flesh out initial ideas, which are then built upon using our wonderful human minds. The collaboration between different departments helps unlock new ideas and perspectives, as well as plan ahead, an essential part of successful long-term brand building.

Target high-value media with:

Proactive and reactive PR/campaigns aligned with trends/the news agenda that encompass behavioural nudges
Expert commentary
Surveys, data and research
Tools and interactive guides, and brainteasers
High-quality backlinks

By building relationships with journalists through relevant content, brands are more likely to appear in those top-tier publications favoured by Google and AI Overviews. A consistent presence in the media also signals to consumers that a brand is authoritative and trustworthy, contributing to long-term loyalty.

Set up relevant reporting

Last but not least, showcase digital PR’s true value with relevant reporting. This not only highlights the immediate wins, but tracks how well digital PR contributes to longer term goals around awareness, trust and authority, as well as that all important ROI.

We monitor various PR metrics for reporting, including:

Analysing backlink health and domain authority using Majestic
Monitoring brand sentiment and social listening with Meltwater
Evaluating campaign performance and editorial reach via CoverageBook

What Success Looks Like

Collaborating with SEO, Paid Media, Human Behaviour and Content teams, we leveraged our digital PR tactics to boost brand trust and strengthen authority for our client Hopes Grove Nurseries.

With a long-term brand building strategy focused on human intent, we produced listicles, top tips and brainteasers that would appeal to Hopes Grove customers and media alike.

Over six months, we achieved:

167 high quality backlinks through relevant press coverage
4.7k more monthly visitors to the website
37.3% increase in conversion (6,823 vs 4,954)

Similarly, for our client Sunsail, we worked with SEO and Content to double down on E-E-A-T as the travel landscape became increasingly competitive. Our aim is for Sunsail to appear within AI overviews as a trusted source. Through digital PR, we crafted human-first content and campaigns around trending lifestyle moments to build reputation with key journalists and customers.

Over six months, we achieved:

56.7% share of voice within AI conversations of the industry
57.43% increase in Search Engine Result Page (SERP) presence
Coverage in the likes of The Telegraph, Daily Mail, The Mirror and trade publications including All at Sea and Yachting Monthly

Key Takeaways

Consistency builds trust: Digital PR helps brands show up consistently in both media and search, reinforcing credibility and emotional connections that are essential for brand trust
Integrated strategy is key to success: Digital PR supports broader goals around brand awareness and revenue growth, but must align with SEO and marketing strategies
AI is transforming how brands show up in search: Digital PR ensures brand content aligns with intent-driven search and shows AI it can be trusted
Behavioural insights drive lasting impact: Effective digital PR taps into human behaviour to craft compelling content that resonates with consumers
Targeted media relationships strengthen reputation: Authoritative, trend-led content helps build editorial trust and earns all-important backlinks
Digital PR is the best of both worlds: It combines quick-win performance tactics with long-term strategic storytelling

Ready to start building a brand that lasts? Speak to our PR team to see how a Digital PR strategy can support your long-term growth.

MEET THE
AUTHOR.

JESSICA DICKENSON

As a Digital PR Manager, Jess leads Reflect Digital’s public relations efforts with a strong focus on storytelling, strategic thinking, and standout communication skills. She’s responsible for securing consistent, high-quality media coverage and building lasting relationships with journalists and key stakeholders. Jess also provides ongoing counsel from a PR perspective, ensuring clients receive seamless, results-driven support throughout.

More about Jessica