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Inbound marketing, defined as the use of quality content to attract clients towards a brand or company, has become increasingly popular in recent years. Naturally attracting customers to a brand by building on their interests and giving them material they would want to have, is a proven method of building leads, traffic and driving sales. For years public relations has revolved around a one-way method of communication. Pushing out carefully crafted messages to a specific audience has served as a standard method of building brand awareness and raising a brand or company’s profile. With the growth of social media, digital communications and content marketing, traditional PR practices are quickly having to adjust to a new environment. Knowing what consumers need and want will assist public relations practitioners in crafting messages that will not only inform their audience but engage them in a natural way. Public relations professionals are required to know how to use inbound marketing in their campaigns, as it is now an essential ingredient for success and guaranteed ROI.
For years public relations has revolved around a one-way method of communication.
Using inbound marketing and updating your PR strategy
The changing public relations environment shouldn’t be any reason for practitioners to be intimated. Instead, PR professionals can build on their existing skills, weaving new skills, such as inbound marketing, into their toolbox and create better strategies for their company / clients. The mutually beneficial end result will benefit both the agency and clients making everyone happy. Here are a few easy steps you should keep in mind for integrating inbound marketing into your public relations campaigns:
1. Create educational content
Find out what your audience wants to know about and write articles and blog posts about it for online content publishing. Make sure the quality of your content is high and there are no errors in the information you’ve provided. Being a credible source means having a well-researched article that is sourced and well written.
2. Search Engine Optimize your press releases
Traditionally, PR practitioners would publish press releases on sites such as Marketwire and Canada Newswire. With the important role Search Engine Optimization (SEO) continues to play in search results and lead generation, it is vital for PR professionals to learn how to create organic SEO content that is Google approved. While press releases sent into traditionally used distribution sites can get lost amongst the thousands of press release out there, SEO press releases can easily be found through a simple keyword search. This will help put your client’s product or business at the top of the search engine result list, making them credible and easy to find. Creating SEO press releases don’t require too much effort. Using the free Google Adwords tools do a quick search for relevant keywords found in your press release and place that keyword in your headline and first sentence. Be sure to use the keyword a few times in a dispersed way throughout your entire press release so that you are not spamming. This simple exercise will put you far ahead of your competitors who aren’t wrapping in the right keyword or bothering to learn basic SEO.
3. Stay up-to-date on digital communication trends
Communication methods are constantly changing. Make sure you are in the know and stay relevant by incorporating trends into your own communication strategy. Using infographics, word clouds, podcasts, case studies and other trendy content sharing methods will make you a more attractive source of information. Use social media platforms best suited for your communication strategy to push out the content you’ve created. Many agencies now use Pinterest to publish their media kits on. Try posting comments on other blog posts in order to generate a buzz and attract attention to your client’s blog. This will boost your site traffic and make them look more credible.
Remember, repurposing your content using inbound marketing strategies will help make you more appealing in the eyes of your potential audience, readers and prospective clients. Public relations practitioners have to stay up-to-date with new technological changes and incorporate trends into their campaigns. This will help you find new clients, create winning strategies and keep you relevant and ahead of the curve.
Have your tried incorporating inbound marketing into your PR campaign? Share your experience with me and leave a comment.
If you’re looking to get your PR content shared, you need to change your writing strategy from the get-go. Once you decide you’re going to release that content, you need to consider who you are looking to appeal to with that content, what is valuable to them, and what you can share that will make them notice and share that offer. It’s about more than just informing people if you’re going to take cues from content marketing, it’s about piquing curiosity.
Thanks for reading and your comment Lyndsay. Can you describe your PR strategy a little more?
I haven’t done much actual PR, but coming from the marketing side it’s natural to me to treat it like any other marketing offer. Decide where your PR needs to go, and once you go there be seen as a resource rather than an interruption.
Being deliberate about your audience saves you time, money and work so you can focus on PR responses that add value to what you’re sharing, be that media time or extra customers.
Lyndsay,
Agree! “who you are looking to appeal to with that content” is the most important part in a PR effort or content marketing.
Thank you for emphasizing that.