Public Relations and Marketing are two worlds that many businesses combine to market themselves. Although different, they can help with a lot of the same things, like sales and awareness. Content marketing is a subset of Marketing but can also be helpful on the PR side of a business because, like PR and Marketing, it helps tell the story of who a business is and why consumers should care.
Content Marketing
What is content marketing? According to Content Marketing Institute, “content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.” The three main attributes they listed are valuable, relevant, and consistent. Let’s jump into why each of these are important.
Valuable
Valuable content answers the question, ‘How does this benefit the audience?’ By providing information that can either teach or inform about your product or service you are providing value to your consumer. Furthermore, letting them walk away with a nugget of information is even better, because it will leave them wanting to come back for more. For example, a hair care company could have Follicle Fridays, where each Friday they post a healthy hair care tip for their followers to try. By showing that you not only know your product, but can also provide value with it, you will gain lifelong followers and customers.
Relevant
Relevant content means being part of the NOW. Leaving space in your content planning for trends is important with this area, because you can’t predict what is going to go viral. Whether that be a trending audio or video idea, viral content will reach a large audience in a relatively short amount of time and can help your page grow. Staying relevant and a part of the current conversation will keep your company at the forefront of your customer’s minds, and at the forefront of social media.
Consistent
Lastly, consistency is key. Part of convincing a consumer to buy from you, or trust you, is the strength of your company’s branding. Having a consistent message and look allows you to look professional and send the message that you are a credible business that knows what you’re talking about. In today’s day and age, a beautiful and high-quality Instagram feed that matches your website, LinkedIn, and other platforms will be a compelling part of selling yourself to customers. As mentioned, this all ties back to Marketing and PR, and here at HIT we can help you with branding your company in an effective way to reach your goals!
Storytelling
Telling the story of who you are can be done through content marketing. Having a face to the company name, with a real-life story humanizes your company and makes a consumer feel more connected and loyal. Finding areas of relatability is incredibly important in sending the message that your company is trustworthy and valuable. Alongside the story of who you and the company are, you can also tell the story of your product or service through content marketing. A picture can mean 1,000 words, and showcasing your gallery of work can illustrate a better image of your offerings than a description. Content marketing can combine storytelling and brand messaging to provide to a consumer the experience they can expect from working with you, and will convince them to choose you over any other competitor in the business.
