At a time when content is king, communications professions are reinventing themselves. For successful press relations, developing an effective content strategy is now essential. Alongside press releases, speeches, pitches and press kits, Brand Content is now a powerful lever for boosting the effectiveness of your PR strategy.
Reaching journalists where they are with effective brand content
In just a few years, brand content has exploded. Popular with companies for creating a direct connection with their audience, this marketing practice is particularly effective for capturing the attention of journalists, especially on social networks. A new study by PR and earned media software and services company Cision reveals that 91% of them use them as part of their work and 40% spend more than two hours a day on them.1 ! They use it to boost the virality of their articles, but also to keep an eye out for interesting information and original points of view.
Nowadays, in addition to having to find their place among the dozens of press releases received by journalists every day, PR consultants have to compete with content produced by brands on their networks, blogs or webinars. There’s only one way to stand out from the crowd: help companies produce this content so that it also serves their PR strategy.
Developing an enhanced PR strategy with branded content
To achieve this, Press Relations professionals will support their customers in the creation of differentiating content. Blog articles, e-books, white papers, podcasts… There are many formats to choose from, and they can be adapted to suit your business and your audience. Of course, the subjects must be of interest to journalists, but not only to journalists. This approach, which focuses first and foremost on the quality of the content rather than on its one-sided dissemination, enables us to bring journalists to us, rather than soliciting them through press releases.
Far from being opposites, traditional PR and Inbound PR are perfectly complementary. For example, the announcement of the release of a white paper on LinkedIn, or a customer or expert testimonial on the company blog, are all information that will feed the media. This content will in turn serve as the basis for press releases, speeches and pitches. Simply pull the cord to increase performance tenfold!
Combining Brand Content and Press Relations: the winning strategy
By taking the initiative in creating this high value-added content, PR professionals position themselves as genuine partners for their customers. They help them boost their visibility and their status as opinion leaders in their sector. The company becomes a privileged contact for journalists, organizing round-table discussions on topical issues that go beyond the simple presentation of its products or services. For the Charal brand, we at FHCOM have created the MeatLab ecosystem. It brings together a range of initiatives in category content, composed of studies, experts, debates and articles on the issues driving our society and the way in which food, and in particular our relationship with beef, is evolving. Meatlab has already seen 7 editions.
Far from stopping at PR, this content will serve the brand’s entire strategy: commercial, by engaging prospects and customers; and HR, by being shared on networks by employees, boosting the employer brand in the process. This Inbound strategy is part of a virtuous circle, which naturally feeds on itself to give the company 360° visibility.
1
Cision study, State of the World’s Media, 2022
