The rise of blackhat digital PR: our responsibility to the industry. Bottled Imagination BrightonSEO.pdf

The rise of black hat digital
PR: Our responsibility to
the industry
James Hayward-Browne
Bottled Imagination
@JJHB92

MEET CHARLOTTE
Bottled Imagination x Brighton SEO
The rise of black hat digital PR

MEET DR CHARLOTTE

STRESS
SLEEP DISORDERS
PANIC ATTACKS
ANXIETY
MENTAL HEALTH
CHARLOTTE SPECIALISES IN
@JJHB92

SHE’S A TRUSTED EXPERT

CHARLOTTE USES SERVICES SUCH AS
HARO & RESPONSE SOURCE TO GET IN
THE PRESS

THE PROBLEM?
SHE ISN’T REAL.

IS THIS A ONE-OFF?

MEET KIMBERLEY

KIMBERLEY REACHED
OUT TO A REPORTER
USING HARO

LOOKING FOR SOMEONE TO TALK TO WHO
GOT A TATTOO TO COVER UP A SCAR
The pitch:

SHE HAD UNDERGONE A MASTECTOMY IN
HER FIGHT AGAINST CANCER
About Charlotte:

“seeing my scarred
chest in the mirror was
a constant reminder of
what I had lost”

“I felt like I was
reclaiming my body,
taking back control of
something that cancer
had taken from me”

IN EXCHANGE FOR PARTICIPATING, SHE
JUST WANTED ONE THING.
About Charlotte:

THIS ISN’T A PROBLEM AND
NOT ABNORMAL

OR WAS IT?

KIMBERLEY WAS
FAKE TOO

BOTH SITUATIONS WERE COMPANIES
TRYING TO GAIN THE SYSTEM

WHO AM I?
Marketing Director +
Co-founder
JAMES

BLACK HAT DIGITAL PR

WHAT IS BLACK HAT
DIGITAL PR?

BLACK HAT
SEO
MANIPULATE SEARCH ENGINES

BLACK HAT
SEO
BLACK HAT
DIGITAL PR
MANIPULATE SEARCH ENGINES
MANIPULATE JOURNALISTS AND
CONSUMERS THROUGH THE MEDIA

3 BLACK HAT DIGITAL PR TACTICS
@JJHB92

1. DISINFORMATION FOR LINKS
@JJHB92

AI AND TECH ADVANCEMENTS HAS MADE
THE BARRIER TO ENTRY FOR DODGY
HACKS LOWER THAN EVER
@JJHB92

It has been happening
for a long time in SEO
and content.
And I’m pretty sure AI
will be the buzzword of
this years BrightonSEO
@JJHB92

THE PROBLEM IS BECOMING
WIDESPREAD
@JJHB92

49AND COUNTING
Fake news website using purely ai generated content
Newsguard - Rise of the news bots, 2023
@JJHB92

@JJHB92

IT’S LEAKING
INTO PR
@JJHB92

THIS IS AN ISSUE FOR CONSUMERS
AND BRANDS
@JJHB92

AND US AS PR PROFESSIONALS
@JJHB92

32%
Of Brits trust the news “most of the time”
Statista, 2023
@JJHB92

AND TRUST IS MORE IMPORTANT
THAN EVER
@JJHB92

71%
Say it’s more important to trust a brand than ever
before
Edelman, 2023
TRUST IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER
@JJHB92

58%
More likely to buy if they trust the brand
Edelman, 2023
TRUST IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER
@JJHB92

ARE CONSUMERS OR GOOGLE REALLY
GOING TO TRUST A BRAND THAT PUTS
OUT FAKE COMMENTS MASQUERADING AS
AN EXPERT?
@JJHB92

2. IRRELEVANT CAMPAIGNS
@JJHB92

76%%
Edelman, 2023
A brand’s attempt to engage often goes wrong because they…
LACK RELEVANCE 78
77
76
72
Ages 18-26 27-42 43-58 59+
NET
@JJHB92

WHAT IS A RELEVANT CAMPAIGN
@JJHB92

Confidential
THE RELEVANCE
SWEET SPOT
What you want
to talk about
What journalists
want to talk
about
⭐
What the
consumer
cares about

Confidential
WHERE IRRELEVANT
CAMPAIGNS SIT
What you want
to talk about
What journalists
want to talk
about
What the
consumer
cares about

Confidential
A “HARD” INDUSTRY ISN’T AN EXCUSE
JORDAN REECE #CRYPTOK

3. SPRAY, PRAY & HOPE
@JJHB92

WHY IS THIS
HAPPENING?
@JJHB92

“NO ONE WANTS TO GET RICH SLOWLY”
- Warren Buffett
@JJHB92

“NO ONE WANTS TO GET RICH SLOWLY”
- Me?
BUILD ORGANIC GROWTH
@JJHB92

AND SHORT TERM GAINS
TEND TO END IN LONG TERM
DETRIMENT
@JJHB92

WHEN A MEASURE BECOMES A TARGET IT
CEASES TO BE A GOOD MEASURE
@JJHB92

WE’RE TYPICALLY MEASURED
BY A LINK KPI
@JJHB92

JOURNALISTS DECIDE WHAT’S
NEWSWORTHY NOT PRs
@JJHB92

AND WE HAVE LITTLE CONTROL
OVER FOLLOWS/NO FOLLOW
@JJHB92

WHICH LEADS US TO “ANY LINK
BY ANY MEANS”
@JJHB92

AGENCY
PITCH
RESORT TO
“ANY LINK
WILL DO”
OVER-
PROMISE
NEGOTIATE
ON PRICE
OR KPI
CHURN
THE SITUATION
@JJHB92

MORE
COMPETITION
HARDER CUT
THROUGH
MORE
STORIES
THAN
ARTICLES
THE BATTLE FOR ATTENTION
@JJHB92

9000 more PRs than
journos
Less than 2.5% of
pitches get a reply
@JJHB92

WHAT CAN/SHOULD
WE DO?
@JJHB92

DIVERSIFY YOUR PROMOTION TACTICS
@JJHB92

If your only distribution
is only through a
journalists inbox, you
need to improve your
chances
@JJHB92

STRATEGY. IDEAS. CREATIVE.
EXECUTION. MEASUREMENT.

This doesn’t mean you
need to outreach more.
You need to target
relevant journalists.
@JJHB92

DON’T DANCE FOR THE
ALGORITHM
@JJHB92

CREDIBILITY
DEPTH OF
CONNECTION
TRUST
BRAND
GROWTH
@JJHB92

AND THAT COMES BY TRYING SOME
STUFF THAT MIGHT NOT BE OPTIMISED
FOR THE ALGORITHM
@JJHB92

BECAUSE PR WAS AROUND BEFORE
GOOGLE AND IT WILL BE AROUND AFTER
@JJHB92

BRAND FAME AND BUSINESS GOALS GO
BEYOND LINKS AND COVERAGE
@JJHB92

THE 20% RULE
@JJHB92

SO, WHAT SHOULD YOU TAKEAWAY?
BrightonSEO
Ideation: Thinking beyond the first idea
@JJHB92

THERE ARE SOME SHADY
TACTICS GOING ON AND WE
NEED TO BE AWARE
@JJHB92

DON’T CAVE TO “ANY
LINK BY ANY MEANS”-
QUALITY IS BEST
@JJHB92

BE CREATIVE AND DON’T
JUST DO THINGS PURELY
FOR THE ALGORITHM
@JJHB92

USE YOUR
IMAGINATION.
@JJHB92

THANK YOU!
ANY QUESTIONS? REACH OUT.
@JJHB92
Shout-outs:
Jo O’Reilly
Julia Pugachevsky Stephen Kenwright

The rise of blackhat digital PR: our responsibility to the industry. Bottled Imagination BrightonSEO.pdf

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