The Public Relations industry is in an incredible position at the intersection of social media, content and search as it evolves into more digital marketing responsibilities. PR practitioners and agencies alike are actively seeking advice on enhancing their skill sets with these new tools. At the PRSA International conference, it was a standing room only crowd at 8am to hear about optimized content marketing for PR.
The expertise in messaging, content creation and media relations that many PR professionals bring to the table offers a competitive advantage in three key areas:
Storytelling – There’s an old expression that has held true for me over the past 15 years, “Facts tell. Stories sell.” Content marketing is the ability to tell brand stories that consumers and the media will care about. Who better to find and tell those stories than PR and communications pros?
Editorial Based Marketing – Before “content marketing” became the catchphrase, I used to call what our Marketing/PR agency did “editorial-based marketing.” PR professionals understand how news organizations work. Businesses are investing in content from planning to production to editorial. Corporate journalists are on the rise and PR professionals are perfectly capable of fulfilling those functions or supporting them to create compelling brand content. Content designed to engage also inspires action — whether it’s a social share, purchase, referral or an inquiry to do a story.
Influencer Marketing – Working with industry and media influencers has been the stock and trade of media relations professionals for years. Numerous tools can support the need to identify influencers based on their ability to affect action – not just high follower counts. PR professionals are well positioned to identify and engage influencers for a variety of content marketing-based outcomes ranging from guest blog posts to co-creation of content with industry thought leaders.
After the presentation, Joe Thornley did an interview with me to talk about the presentation and Optimize:
To learn more about the intersection of PR and content marketing, be sure to pick up a copy of Optimize!