You need more leads, but you’re not sure how PR fits into the picture. What’s the ROI on working with a PR firm if your primary goal is lead generation? As society becomes more digitized and consumers increasingly demand brand authenticity, it isn’t enough to focus on traditional lead-generation efforts or paid strategies. PR needs to be leveraged to work in tandem with other marketing and advertising campaigns, integrated effectively for maximum success.
Here’s how to use a PR program to increase lead generation and build your customer base.
Boost SEO and Visibility
If your company’s website includes SEO-optimized blog posts, white papers or additional assets, think about earned media placements as an extension of those resources. Once you secure interest from a reporter, you can often embed website backlinks within your content, as well as target keywords associated with your brand, before handing it off for publication.
What if those embedded links were excluded by the editors or the publication has a policy against backlinks? Have no fear, promoting media placements across your organization and in social media can still drive brand awareness and increase the likelihood of your company popping up in search results.
Drive Customers Down the Funnel
Big media wins can help move your brand into the consideration phase for a customer, driving them deeper into your sales funnel. That huge funding announcement in TechCrunch or thought leadership piece in Bloomberg provides third-party credibility, moving a customer closer to conversion.
Prominent media mentions, partnership announcements and product roundups aren’t limited to being shared across your team’s social profiles. Feature these placements in internal emails and weekly newsletters, include them on a press page on your site or consider writing a piece of owned content like a blog post, linking back to the article.
Become an industry Thought Leader
According to LinkedIn’s 2021 Impact survey on B2B thought leadership, 63% of buyers say thought leadership is important in providing proof that an organization genuinely understands or can solve your specific business challenges. Additionally, 53% of decision-makers increase the amount of business they do with an organization after engaging with a piece of thought leadership content.
A PR team will brainstorm and identify appropriate thought leadership angles to pitch, whether it’s sharing your C-suite’s opinions on a trending industry topic or securing media interest around your company’s survey data, to help gain public trust in your brand.
Show the Business Value of Working With Your Brand
With your newfound leads and customer acquisition comes client success stories and case studies, which your PR team can turn right around and leverage into new lead generation efforts. Being able to share stories of how your brand helped clients across different industries gives your marketing and sales teams a library of proof points. These resources can then be repurposed and added to promotional material, going right back into feeding the funnel. It’s a cycle full of win-wins!
Your PR team should be seen as a partner alongside marketing and lead gen, working together to create and foster customer relationships. When incorporated strategically, PR can help build the kind of buzz, brand awareness and credibility that brings customers in and keeps them coming back.
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