Content marketing has permanently changed the nature and function of public relations. The continuous process of creating and curating content has become the next step in the evolution of PR.
Valuable, relevant content in just about any form is what everyone from consumers to C-suite executives craves today. To help you become a better content marketer, here are four tips courtesy of Karen Belletsky, content marketing officer at Adams & Knight, Inc. and a contributor to PR News' Book of Content Marketing Strategies & Tactics Vol. 1.
Recognize that content is all around you. All you have to do is look and listen. For example, consider every member of your organization as a potential content generator. Each one has a story to tell, a job to do, skills to share. Make it your job to find these nuggets, position them in a way that’s meaningful to your key audiences and distribute them using the most appropriate and effective channel possible for the audiences you want to reach.
Develop an interesting point of view to foster more engagement. With all the competition for attention, the only way to stand out is to stand up for something. It’s no longer good enough to communicate the facts and inform the public about a topic. Savvy content marketers know that you’ve got to develop an interesting point of view. That perspective will make your target audience remember your organization and want to respond, reply, like, share, retweet, favorite or comment on your content.
Don’t forget visuals. Content isn’t confined to just the written word. Content marketing includes visuals as well—photos, presentations, infographics, videos, sketches and doodles. These days PR professionals have an entire array of tools available to help with translating content visually. Tools like Vine, visual.ly, GoPro and cell phone cameras make it easier to produce a quick video or infographic or take a photo that audiences will have an easier time remembering.
Get as much mileage as you can from every bit of content you create. Let’s say a member of your C-suite has been asked to present at an industry meeting. That single speech or presentation you and your staff work on can be sliced and diced in many different ways to feed a multitude of content marketing channels. Here are just a few examples of how to feed your social channels with just one piece of original content:
- A presentation can be videotaped and posted on your organization’s YouTube channel.
- You can post the presentation on SlideShare and share it with your network or groups on your organization’s LinkedIn page.
- With a few tweaks here and there, the same content from the presentation or speech can be repackaged into an article for your organization’s blog or website.
- You can develop a quick infographic based on the nature of the information in the presentation.
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Follow Brian Greene on Twitter: @bw_greene
For more content marketing help, order a copy of PR News' Book of Content Marketing Strategies & Tactics Vol. 1 here.