If you’re looking to improve your PR strategy, you should consider using content marketing as a foundation. Content marketing can help you attract attention from the media, build relationships with key influencers, and more. This article will discuss eleven ways to use content marketing to bolster your PR efforts and provide some tips on how to get started.
1. Develop a content strategy that aligns with your overall business and marketing goals
First, you need to identify the main messages you want to communicate. Your content strategy should align with your overall business goals and marketing strategy. You can then begin creating content that will help you promote your brand.
Your content strategy should also align with your PR objectives. When creating your content, make sure to consider the following:
- What are you trying to achieve?
- Who is your target audience?
- What type of content will resonate with them?
- Where will it be shared (social media, email)?
- How often will you publish new content?
2. Identify key topics and themes that you can focus on throughout the year
Once you have developed your content strategy, it’s essential to create a content calendar to organize your ideas and plan out your content strategy for the year ahead.
You can identify key topics and themes that you can focus on throughout the year. This will ensure that you stay on track and that your content aligns with your overall messaging.
The content calendar will help you identify what types of content will resonate with your audience and plan out when it should be published on which channel(s).
You can also use it to track progress over time so that you have a better understanding of how well each type of post performs relative to others.
3. Establish yourself as a thought leader in your industry by creating valuable content
The next step is to produce high-quality, informative, and engaging content. To do this, you will need a team of writers who are experts at what they do—whether that’s writing blog posts or creating videos for YouTube channels.
You can also outsource these tasks if necessary (and affordable). However, it’s essential to make sure that the writers you hire produce quality content that will resonate with your audience.
It is also essential to consider the tone of your content. For example, when creating blog posts, make sure they are informal and approachable. This will help build a relationship with your audience and encourage them to return for future posts.
When creating videos, on the other hand, make sure they are professional and high-quality. This will help to establish your brand as a credible source of information.
A great example of creating an authority content in a narrow niche is Aura, which is a digital security service with a focus on identity theft protection. On their blog, they cover topics related to a very narrow niche. For example, with the blog post on how to protect your child from identity theft, they answer the most common questions related to this topic and offer a quick solution which helps them to build authority in their niche and also increase brand awareness.
4. Make use of guest bloggers
You can use guest blogging to produce informative and engaging content.
Guest blogging allows you to leverage the expertise of other writers while also building relationships with them. This can be particularly helpful if your brand doesn’t have enough resources or time to produce high-quality material on its own.
Some brands use guest bloggers to expand their audience by reaching out to new readers. Others use it to generate leads by including CTAs in their guest posts.
Make sure that the blog posts you publish are high-quality and informative. This will help to ensure that your audience remains engaged and continues to visit your site for future content.
5. Use social media to amplify your content
When used correctly, social media can help increase the reach and visibility of your content, generating more leads and traffic to your site. There are several ways to use social media to amplify your content.
For example, you can share links to your blog posts on Instagram posts, Twitter and Facebook or post videos from your YouTube channel on LinkedIn. You can also use social media to run contests and giveaways that promote your content.
You can also try unique forms of content to engage audiences on social media. For example, you can create custom games or online jigsaw puzzles which can help your brand stand out, and drive more virality.
The key is to experiment with different strategies until you find ones that work best for you on social media. Make sure you clearly understand how your audience uses social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn before regularly posting content.
6. Be consistent with your content marketing strategy
Consistency is vital to an effective content marketing strategy. If you want your audience to keep coming back, then they need a reason to do so. You can do this by creating high-quality, informative, and engaging content that ranks on search engines and that they can’t find anywhere else.
This doesn’t mean that you have to publish a new blog post every day (although that would be great). You need to be consistent in the quality and type of content you produce.
When you do this, your audience will come to expect new content from you regularly and are more likely to share it, which can help expand your reach even further.
7. Reach out to journalists and bloggers to get them interested in your story
One of the effective ways to generate exposure for your content is by getting journalists and bloggers interested in it. If you can get journalists and bloggers interested in your content, it will be more likely to succeed. When done correctly, this can help to increase traffic to your site and generate more leads.
You can do several things to get journalists and bloggers interested in your story. For example, you can send them press releases or pitch ideas for articles. You can reach out to them on social media and offer to provide expert commentary for their stories. Ensure that you target the right people and don’t be afraid to reach out to them directly.
8. Let your customers tell their stories
Customer testimonials are a great way of building trust and credibility with your audience. They provide social proof that other people have bought from you before, which can help to increase conversions.
Customer testimonials are particularly valuable because they allow customers to tell their own stories about how your product or service has benefited them.
Ideally, these stories should be written in the first person so that your audience can relate to them on a personal level. If possible, try and include as much detail as you can about how your product or service has helped them solve their problem(s).
The more specific you are with this information, the more credible your testimonials will appear.
9. Host a webinar or podcast
Podcasts and webinars are an effective way to engage your audience and provide them with valuable information. They also help build trust and credibility by demonstrating your expertise in a particular area.
When it comes to content marketing, webinars and podcasts can be a great way of reaching new audiences.
Both formats have their unique benefits, so it’s essential to choose the one that will work best for you. Webinars are great for providing interactive content, while podcasts are perfect for demonstrating your expertise on a particular topic.
In addition, you can use both formats to generate leads by offering freebies and discount codes to people who sign up for them. Host a webinar or podcast regularly so that you can keep your audience engaged and interested.
10. Create an e-book or white paper
White papers and e-books are another great way of providing valuable content to your audience. They also help build trust and credibility by demonstrating your expertise in a particular area.
11. Monitor and analyze your results to see what’s working and what needs improvement
The final step in developing a content marketing strategy is to monitor and analyze your results. You can do this by using Google Analytics or another analytics service provider.
You should also keep track of any social media posts that you’ve made, as well as the number of comments on those posts and their engagement levels (i.e., likes, shares, etc.).
This information will help you see what’s working and needs improvement to make the necessary adjustments. Use your findings to adjust your content strategy over time.
Final thoughts
Content marketing has become an essential part of most PR campaigns, and it can be highly effective when done correctly. It is a great way to reach new audiences, generate more leads, and improve your credibility.
When developing a content marketing strategy, remember to target the right people, produce high-quality content, and monitor and analyze your results. If you do this, you’ll be well on your way to achieving success with your content marketing strategy.
