Public relations is all about balance. Too many social media posts and your organization can look spammy and unfiltered, while a lack of media coverage can make your organization appear inexperienced and uncompetitive.
To develop a balanced PR strategy, you need to consider the three types of media: earned, paid and owned. Earned media is any material written about a business organically, while paid media is content that has been promoted through payment. Owned media includes content published by the brand itself, like a LinkedIn post, a white paper or a blog post.
The trifecta of public relations strategies – one that achieves a healthy and sustained balance between each of the services in your program – must include blog management. Blog management remains an unsung hero when it comes to your brand. Content creation is key to any PR program; it provides valuable, branded material ripe for helping support your goals. Here are four reasons why a PR team should manage your blog.
Understand Your Objectives
Whether you’ve used a PR agency for years or you are new to an agency relationship, a PR team has a pulse on what your company is aiming toward, even if those goals change regularly.
Let’s say your objective is lead generation: How is your blog being used to bring in new clients? Blogs are a credibility builder – the content is an opportunity to focus on the problems and pain points your offerings solve for prospects. Your PR team should leverage blog content in social media posts and include blog backlinks in bylines to increase engagement and drive new users to the website.
Know the Content Your Audience Cares About
A vital element of your PR program is reaching your target audience. Your agency is already connecting with reporters, knows what topics land with your audiences and has researched the SEO keywords that will help your content rank in Google. When establishing a blog content calendar and developing ideas for future blogs, you have a team with vast knowledge of industry trends and keywords you should include in your content to best reach your audience.
Won’t Let Blogs Fall to the Bottom of the To-Do List
Blog content is easy to deprioritize when schedules get busy for your in-house marketing team. Just the other day, a client mentioned frustration with her team because a new blog hadn’t been posted in three months due to conflicting priorities. Sticking with a regular blog cadence ensures consistent, SEO-optimized content to keep your website top of mind for prospects and blog subscribers.
Ready To Promote
When a blog is finally published on your company website, the work isn’t over. External blog promotion needs to be a part of your PR agency’s role if you’re looking to increase page views and get the most eyes on your content. The content can be leveraged in media outreach as well as distributed across your social media channels to increase engagement and drive users back to your website. A PR team can also make strategic recommendations on how to share the content internally to boost employee advocacy.
Make your blog work for you by having a PR agency handle the process. Blog management provides material for social media that builds brand awareness and drives web traffic while acting as a steady content source to boost credibility in reporter outreach. The next time you push blogs to the bottom of your to-do list, think instead about handing the management off to an experienced PR team.
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