🎉 Celebrating 10 Years of Excellence in Leadership and Community 🎉

In today's Agency Pulse, gain insight into how:

• Avoiding six common holiday PR mistakes can help your brand stand out during the busiest season of the year.

• Earned media is replacing outdated SEO tactics, with AI rewarding credibility and authentic coverage over paid strategies.

• Strategic link-building efforts can boost your SEO by leveraging high-quality backlinks, outreach, and shareable content.

For the uninitiated: Agency Pulse is a free, biweekly newsletter designed for the innovative agency leaders of today and tomorrow. Each article featured below is penned by a member of Forbes Agency Council, a community of successful agency owners and executives on a mission to inspire.

Let’s dive in!

Top Holiday PR Mistakes Brands Still Make (& How To Avoid Them)

The holidays are a critical time for brands, but every year, some avoidable (and costly) PR missteps arise. From starting too late to relying on gimmicks, these common mistakes can cause brands to miss out on meaningful opportunities to connect.

Here are some common mistakes and how to avoid them:

🎁 Starting Too Late: Shift focus to short-lead outlets or influencers if planning fell behind. Be nimble with last-minute, personal outreach.

🎀 Overrated Packaging: Skip the flashy and focus on storytelling to create emotional connections with editors and consumers.

💸 Discount Fatigue: Balance promotions with storytelling or “behind-the-scenes” content to maintain authenticity and audience trust.

📍 Ignoring Local/Niche Outlets: Don’t chase only national headlines. Local press and micro-influencers can drive major impact.

📝 Generic Pitches: Personalize every pitch to stand out in crowded inboxes. Tailored details show effort and resonate with recipients.

🙌 Missing Social Proof: Amplify influencer and customer testimonials. Authentic endorsements trump self-promotion.

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Earned Media Is The New SEO—Here’s Why AI Rewards Authenticity

Forget keyword stuffing and backlinks, AI has completely reshaped how brands get discovered online. Generative AI tools prioritize credibility and organic coverage, not paid media or outdated SEO tactics. If your brand isn’t regularly cited in earned media, you risk slipping into irrelevance.

Here’s how to build authority through authenticity:

📑 Earned Media Rules: AI trusts organic, third-party-validated mentions like news coverage, interviews, and expert commentary. Consistent, credible features across varied outlets help AI deem your brand relevant.

🤝 Build Relationships, Not Clickbait: Journalists need reliable, insightful sources. Become one by staying helpful, responding quickly, and offering actionable data—even when you’re not pitching.

🏅 Expand Your Reach: Beyond big outlets, niche publications, and newsletters also help AI recognize your authority. Consistency is key.

🎙 Prioritize Thought Leadership: Shift resources from paid media to authentic storytelling. Share original insights, write opinion pieces, join panels, and create content that adds real value.

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Are You Using Backlinks Effectively?

Backlinks remain a cornerstone of SEO strategy, despite claims of their diminished importance. High-quality backlinks from reputable sites act as endorsements for your content, boosting credibility and rankings. But successful link-building takes time, strategy, and effort.

Here’s how to maximize your backlink game:

📄 Focus on Credibility: The better the site linking to your content, the stronger the SEO boost. Research where your competitors' backlinks come from to pinpoint opportunities.

📬 Master Outreach: Reach out to resource pages, suggest replacing broken links with your content, monitor brand mentions, or use platforms like HARO to connect with journalists for coverage.

🤝 Leverage Networking: Guest blogging, podcasting, or submitting articles to top publications can land valuable backlinks while building industry relationships.

📊 Create Shareable Content: Infographics, interactive tools, and “skyscraper” content (improving high-performing content in your niche) encourage organic backlinks. Dive into your analytics for ideas and create resources people can’t resist sharing.

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Wrapping Up

If these articles sparked your interest, we have a network that you will love: Forbes Agency Council.

This exclusive, highly vetted community brings together the brightest agency owners, founders, and executive leaders.

Put yourself at the forefront of the agency landscape with access to publishing opportunities on Forbes.com, a personalized, SEO-friendly Executive Profile, and the chance to network with other respected leaders in the field.

Join Forbes Agency Council today, and become part of a group driving transformation in this field.