How The Digital PR Industry Has Evolved and Where It’s Headed

When I started in PR in 2015, the industry landscape felt very different. While strategy played a role, there was also a tendency to create campaigns that, on the surface, had little relevance to the client’s brand, target audience, or user journey. The wildest part? These seemingly disconnected campaigns could still secure up to 100 high-authority links in popular publications, and because the numbers looked good on paper, clients were satisfied.

Over the past decade, however, the industry has undergone a major shift. While high-authority backlinks still hold value, there’s been a growing recognition that quantity alone isn’t enough. If PR efforts lack strategic alignment, storytelling depth, and genuine relevance to brand messaging and real customer needs, they won’t translate into the desired business impact, whether that’s increased sales, brand affinity, or long-term customer loyalty.

The majority of PR’s have embraced this revolution, recognising that PR should never be about the number of links in isolation, but instead about the quality, relevance and messaging of those placements. 

However, with the continued rise of AI, we’ve entered yet another phase of marketing, one where authenticity, human connection, and brand integrity have never been more crucial to winning over potential customers. 

The brands that will stand out in the years ahead will be those that double down on meaningful, purposeful communication. Every message a brand puts out should feel intentional, relevant, and aligned with the core values of its audience. In this landscape, securing a handful of highly relevant, high-quality links will drive more impact than a scattergun approach to mass link-building.

Five tips to building an intentional PR strategy that actually converts in 2025

1. Work to deeply understand your customer and their journey

   What are their pain points, frustrations, and aspirations? What stories will truly resonate with them? This understanding should underpin your entire PR strategy and no stories should be developed without this foundation.

   
   

2. Prioritise the right digital touchpoints

   Instead of chasing mass links from any publication you can get, conduct landscape analysis to focus on the publications, platforms, and channels that will genuinely reach and influence your target audience. Quality over quantity, always.

   
   

3. Put storytelling at the heart of everything

   AI can be a great help in sparking initial ideas and providing inspiration, but real, impactful storytelling can only come from human creativity. Invest time in crafting human-centric narratives that spark emotion and connection.

   
   

4. Remember that relevance really is everything

   Every campaign and communication should remain true to your brand’s core offering and messaging, whilst being relevant to your industry and audience. Consistency builds trust, and trust is what drives long-term customer relationships.

   
   

5. Leverage reactive PR and smaller-scale content

   While big creative campaigns still have a place, a well rounded PR strategy will be weighted with more agile tactics, such as expert commentary, reactive PR and micro-campaigns to tell a consistent story. 

   
   

Over the last 10 years PR has evolved from a numbers game focused on gaining as many links as possible, regardless of quality, to a strategic, human-driven discipline and this has never been more obvious than it is in 2025. Brands that embrace this shift, prioritising relevance, resonance, and deeper connection will not only secure valuable coverage but also build lasting relationships with their audience that actually leads to conversions and sustainable growth.