How Content and PR Can Work Together with Amy Higgins

Whether you’re creating content or working on PR, the end goal goals for both of them are similar. Ultimately, you want to make your brand more visible and communicate what values you stand for.

Despite having the same goals, marketers often pick one strategy over the other. In other words, they are seen as mutually exclusive. There is no doubt that PR and content marketing have their own individual benefits. But the fields have now begun to merge together.

Image via Annenberg.usc.edu

Almost 50% of PR professionals included in a study predicted that public relations is set to become more aligned with marketing over the next five years. When marketers were asked the same question, 57% of them also agreed.

If done correctly, an integrated approach towards PR and content marketing can yield better results than they do independently.

Let’s take a look at why you need to combine your PR and content marketing strategies:

Why You Should Combine Your PR and Content Marketing

In the world of marketing, PR has been around longer. It encompasses strategies that can yield better, speedier results. On the other hand, content marketing takes a long-term approach.

Now, let’s look at a broader perspective. For those who want to grow their businesses, brand building and engagement are crucial. Both of these factors require that you work consistently for a long time.

PR can get you the attention your brand needs. But how do you ensure you can hold your audience’s attention? By combining content with PR.

Here are the reasons why you should follow an integrated approach:

1. Your Content Can Boost Your PR

If you’ve got your own blog, you’ve created a space where you can discuss the latest trends. Imagine something exciting happens in your industry or niche. You write a blog post for your audience and publish it.

When other publishers are curating or writing content, they may take note of your published work. They may share it with others, or even give you credit in their articles. If you’re lucky, you might even get a message asking for a quote.

Through content marketing, you can establish yourself as an authority in your niche. This, in turn, can help you get more press.

2. PR Can Give More Credibility to Your Content

PR is all about creating buzz around your brand. It gives you validation and credibility. Even if your content is doing exceptionally well on your blog, it still counts as self-promotion. If someone else writes about how great your brand is, that’s what makes your brand stronger.

If influencers and other leaders in your niche are all praises for you, you’re going to get a boost in your brand’s reputation. This kind of PR can do wonders for your content.

3. PR Can Open Avenues for New Content

Content marketers frown upon content that blatantly promotes your brand. To get their audiences hooked on, content marketers focus on delivering informational content.

It's a great way to engage your audience and promote your services or products without seeming annoying.

What if you are creating great content but it isn’t reaching the right audience?

That’s where PR can help you. PR is all about promotion. If you can get PR placements and brand mentions in the right places, it can introduce you to other consumers.

If you can build on these brand relationships, you can work together to create content. You can also experiment with content campaigns that align with your brand and audience.

Things to Keep in Mind to Align Content Marketing and PR

Now that you know the benefits of combining PR and content marketing, let’s dig deeper.

If you want to get the best of both worlds, here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Focus on Providing Value to Your Readers

When you’re ideating your content, always think about how it will give value to the reader. If you want to grab people’s attention, you should focus on producing content that educates them.

You may want to promote your products, but you should avoid overly sales-y content. There is nothing more off-putting than content that is click-baity or overly promotional.

Instead, make sure the aim of your content is to impart knowledge to your readers. You can also look for content ideas that are shareworthy or entertaining.

Simply publishing content and reaching out to journalists or publications won’t do you any good. You have a better chance of getting a positive response if you provide high-quality content.

2. Use the Right Tools and Software

Content creation is only half the battle. The way you distribute your content will decide how much traction you will get. From managing posting schedules to reaching out to other brands, you’ll have to take care of it all.

To make these things easier, you can use tools and software. Here are some tools and platforms that can help you with content marketing and PR:

Image via HubSpot

• SEMrush: Using this SEO tool, you can do keyword research, and run SEO audits. You can find new backlink opportunities and get insights into your competitors’ strategies.

• HubSpot: This inbound marketing tool can help with customer relationship management and sales. Using this tool, you can create high-quality content, target the right audience, and can effectively manage your contact lists. Additionally, you can also distribute and track your email campaigns.

• Google Analytics: You can use Google Analytics to understand if your content marketing strategy is working well. Reports from this tool can help you figure out your pain points.

• Moz: This SEO tool is for inbound marketing and link building.

• Sprout Social: This tool can help you monitor and manage all of your social media accounts.

Apart from the tools mentioned above, there are tons of other tools that you can use. Using these tools can improve your efficiency and improve your productivity.

Final Words

PR and content marketing are beginning to merge. To keep up with the pace of the industry, I would suggest that you take an integrated approach for PR and content marketing. If done correctly, a combined approach can help you get the best of both worlds.

If you need help with content marketing and PR, please feel free to reach out to me to chat.