Here are 11 ways content fuels the effectiveness of PR

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If PR was a human body, content would be the blood because it keeps everything working.

Content plays an integral role across the spectrum of today’s PR efforts. In a PR context, content can help a business or organisation:

1. Attract attention and engage people (sometimes even when they have no reason to pay attention to you)
2. Increase reach through shareability and word of mouth
3. Kick-start conversations or spark debate about a story or idea
4. Build familiarity with people who otherwise might not know about you
5. Deepen the connection with people who already do know, like or trust your brand
6. Reinforce your brand story internally and externally
7. Place your brand on the radar of media influencers, such as journalists, bloggers and podcasters
8. Validate your brand’s bona fides when it comes to a particular topic, subject or issue
9. Increase your messaging frequency (supposedly people need to see or hear a message seven-plus times before they notice or trust it, depending on which research report you read)
10. Enrich relationships that employees, and stakeholders more broadly, have with your organisation
11. Fuel your brand’s social media channels, thereby reinforcing the narrative you want to spread

All of the above, except of course the social media element, are all classic outcomes of public relations, things that PR people have been putting into action for decades.

Yes, content has often been used. In the past, though, it was generally expensive to produce and distribute, not to mention subject to long lead times. Thus, it wasn’t used nearly often enough, particularly by budget-constrained small businesses and nonprofit organisations.

Today, however, it’s a different story!

Businesses can be more agile and creative when it comes to creating content. And they can produce terrific useful content that people want, in a way that won’t break the bank.

They can use a multitude of channels, publish in real time and set up a process ensuring they’re more prolific and efficient than ever before. Oh, and it’s also much easier to track and evaluate progress, thanks to the myriad measurement tools at our disposal.

Today, the opportunity for businesses, organisations and individuals to become their own media channel is very, very real. These days, it’s as exciting as it gets in the world of marketing and PR!