He just started writing reporters one day. It was a time before blog comments, and tweets, and Facebook updates; he sent his thoughts by email.
It wasn’t a pitch. It wasn’t a call to action. It was a note. Just a conversation – a comment on an article he read. He offered perspective – his own – but it was all done without an ask.
It took a while, but then he started to get a lot of press coverage. Instead of leading with his credentials, or his story, his emails offered the viewpoint of a person engaged in the daily activities of his industry. He became a source. And reporters started asking him for his opinions.
This story is my recollection of one chapter in The Cluetrain Manifesto, a book I often reference in posts on this site. One of the authors, Doc Searls, is still quite active on the web from his vantage point at Harvard.
Markets are Conversations
The rise of content marketing is an evolution of the concept Searls & Co. introduced long ago: markets are conversations. It’s the difference between someone that leads with a well-reasoned viewpoint, and someone that leads with a title, or credentials. This is often the difference between holding a great conversation, or talking at someone we find to be more interested in their watch.
Content marketing is a conversation. It is a chance to shape, frame and lead discussions. It’s not a chance to shill wares, and though it might seem counterintuitive, brands stand to sell more by sticking to the conversation.
Adding value to a market dialogue builds rapport and breeds trust – essential elements to closing a deal. To that end, content marketing is a useful tool in so many ways for PR to cut through the clutter with unusual clarity, by doing things differently.
6 Reasons Content Marketing is an Effective PR Technique
Content is the common denominator to effective media relations. That is to say, it’s a minimum cost to entry for earning attention. PR cannot be competitive, it cannot help clients or employers, and it cannot be successful, in a highly competitive environment, unless PR embraces content marketing.
I’ve reached a point in my career where my best PR efforts aren’t made with a telephone or email, but rather with useful content that’s made freely available. It is a subtle pitch. It is soft. It is very effective and here’s why:
1. The backlink. Trackbacks, pingbacks and the link economy may seem like ancient words to the savvy digitrati, but it is the effective notification that one site thought so highly of the content on another, that it linked-back to that content. The hype over Google’s crack down on guest posts and press releases, are at the core of this value. Among many ways Google ranks sites, one of the most important is based on the backlinks a site has earned. A link is inherently valuable. PR pros that want to earn the attention of influencers should invoke backlinks, though we need to do it when the content truly merits a link.
2. Surrounding conversations. A backlink may not always have the desired effect. Perhaps they didn’t see it, or perhaps they are not interested, but the conversation that is earned around a post will force such interest. A reporter, or blogger, or influencer cannot afford to miss or ignore content in which their audience has expressed interest, or do so that their own loss. Surrounding conversations don’t come easily – they are earned. The way to earn these, the most valuable component of content marketing, is consistency. We get better with time, and practice and experimentation. We internalize and make ideas our own with a habit of writing content.
3. Thresholds. A threshold is by definition, “the place or point of beginning; the outset.” There is saying that a single grain of rice can tip a scale. Content marketing, which I believe in many ways is the marketing of content, the marketing of an idea, is the way to cross thresholds and earn third-party validation. Content marketing fosters a community that naturally gravitates toward good ideas and demonstrates that our ideas; it is “social proof” the ideas we represent matter.
Don’t miss these useful posts:
A Pediatric Prescription for Effective Content Marketing
The Struggle is Real in B2B Content Marketing [UML]
Trust Economy: Summaries to 4 Content Marketing Studies
4. Credibility. Credibility comes in two forms in content marketing. First, it’s in the “social proof” as previously noted. But it also comes in our own form. What I mean is people, including the influential, look at us as individuals when they weigh a pitch. Is this person engaged? Have they a track record of success? There have been so many occasions in the last few years, where PR opportunities evolved because of my personal efforts here on these pages, even when my own work has little to do with my day job.
5. Taking our own risks. Like social media, corporations avoid content marketing over fear. There’s a risk involved in expressing an opinion…someone might disagree. For those PR pros seeking to earn the attention of third-party content producers, this point could not be more important: reporters want to know a company has skin in the game and I’ve found some are more likely to pay attention to a post they can cite, and link back to, than an email on background a PR pro would rather not see published.
6. Search. What makes search engines so successful? It’s the ability to search for answers. People search for answers – searching is an explicit expression of need – which is why Marcus Sheridan advocates for answering questions in content marketing. Ryan Hanley took to YouTube to answer questions about insurance and put his employer on the map. Search enables PR to reach their customers directly, but reporters are also inclined to search for background when they get a new assignment. Search is a component of media relations as well.
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Much of what is content marketing should come naturally to PR pros because of their background in working with editorial contacts. The difference is, even as the traditional media outlets have discovered, there’s much to be learned by doing and practicing. A better method for PR is to start taking part in the market of conversations and relying less on the straight pitch. Of course, as a competitive PR professional, I won’t mind if PR pros choose otherwise.
Does your PR agency make your job easier or harder?
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It’s rare you find one good at both. We are.
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Brands Be the Content Customers Want…Not Next to It [UML]
Photo credit: Flickr, Paul Downey, Cluetrain and Posse (CC BY 2.0)
