As technology makes storytelling more powerful, companies and brands need to reinforce the value of public relations (PR) to achieving their marketing objectives. Great storytelling has always been at the root of good PR; with the increasing demand for meaningful pieces of content, PR’s role has become critical in presenting a consistent message for a company and brand.
Content has become a strategic asset in every business. It is an important component streaming across mobile, social and the digital world and with millions of pieces of content swirling every minute, it can be a challenge to influence audiences in these spaces. This is why we insert PR in the picture. PR is a means to help create more compelling content that will be crucial in persuading audiences to make decisions that will favor your brand.
Here is a step-by-step guide on how your brand can utilize PR to maximize your content:
1. Learn to repurpose PR assets
A perfect example of a PR asset and very common too is press release, which contains a lot of valuable information about your company and brand. It is created primarily for media consumption, and often serves as reference for them as they tell your story (if you’re lucky, they will publish the press release the way you wrote it) to their audience. A press release, though, is a chunky asset and may not work effectively across all intended spaces where your audiences hangs out. In these changing times, by using emerging technologies, you can make use of this asset in such a way that it’ll still be effective across all platforms through repurposing.
Ways to repurpose an asset:
– Run down the key points in bullet form
– Create a visual and/or audio version
– Personalize the message according to who you are speaking to
2. Choose publisher wisely
It is one thing to strategically develop content and another to send your message across to your audience. Choosing a publisher is crucial to EFFECTIVELY reach the ears you want to talk to and the eyes you want to see you brand.
Be conscious of the platform where your content will be seen. Publish content on platforms accordingly as not to lose the context of the content (see previous article).
Aside from mainstream media, the emergence of bloggers and online influencers can help you reach your audience too (as if you didn’t know that already). They are even as or more effective than mainstream media in persuading audiences, as they are not as intimidating as the mainstream media projects itself to be. Followers/fans have direct access to bloggers and quite often, they are well-engaged with these online influencers. These online influencers can help create buzz for you but not all bloggers are created equal. Here are some of the things to consider when choosing an effective publisher:
– Must have a good track record.
o Check his blog/pages to see how consistent the posts on his page are and their engagement.
– Good reputation within the community
o If the person has a good reputation, then it’s easier to create influence among their followers and may even convince other influencers to create some buzz for you.
– Good writer
o If he is, then he is heaven sent for your brand.
3. Amplify your content
Social platforms, for instance, are like any other businesses. They have to earn, not just serve. So if you think your content can bring in the results you want strictly organically, well, you are wrong. It is ok to allocate funds to boost and promote your content. It helps you reach who you want. With all of the changes in algorithms of social and digital platforms, you might end up talking to yourself if you don’t consider paying extra to promote your content.
Amplifying your content doesn’t always mean spending more, on the contrary, another way to amplify content is by engaging with online communities, preferably the passionate ones. Not only do you get the active engagement you’re looking for, you are able to gather some extra information and insights from the community about your company and brand.
Taking extra steps in personalizing your message to selected groups is essential for companies and brands to maintain quality content. It is not about how fast you are pushing things out for your brand but how you can make connections to your audiences a unique experience.
