Why Digital PR and Content Marketing should work together

Many businesses mistakenly believe that PR and Content Marketing can operate independently, missing out on the full potential the channels can offer. While PR focuses on building relationships and managing reputation, Content Marketing aims to engage and educate audiences.

When treated as separate entities, these efforts can fall short of their potential, leading to fragmented messaging, diluted brand impact, and missed opportunities for growth.

When these two powerhouses combine however, their unique purposes form a strategy that can produce game-changing results. PR and Content Marketing aim to achieve similar goals, but they are most powerful when aligned.

Here are five reasons why you should combine PR and Content Marketing:

1. Working together will strengthen the brand further

PR will manage a brand's key messages and values, making them ideal partners for content creation. By integrating brand messages into informational content and ensuring a consistent tone across all channels, you will strengthen your brand’s identity.

Incorporating content into your editorial calendar helps align your communications and marketing efforts across platforms. A shared calendar can help manage PR activities, blog posts, white papers, and social media content, ensuring they work together to effectively address key themes and topics.

2. It pushes content in front of the audience it's intended for

Informational content isn't as explicitly promotional as traditional PR material. Instead, it provides high-quality information tailored to the audience's needs by answering questions, helping them learn something new, or offering entertainment.

Over time, this approach establishes you as a trusted source, driving business growth.

However, relying solely on search engines to reach your audience isn't enough. PR professionals are experts in compiling lists of influencers, advocates, and reporters who might be interested in your story. Leveraging these relationships allows you to give your content that extra push, ensuring it reaches the right people.

This approach can result in backlinks from other sites. Even if a backlink isn’t secured, guest posting remains a valuable way to introduce your brand to new audiences and get your name out there.

We put this to the test during a Digital PR project for Motorpoint. Our initial release was a lengthy guide advising motorists how to save money when it came to selling their vehicle. We then pulled specific excerpts out of this and pitched to press in response to trend outbreaks which meant different pieces of content were used multiple times – securing high-quality links.

3. Save time and resources with pre-packaged content

Time and tight deadlines are often a PR’s biggest setback. Having content ready to go can significantly ease these pressures. PR and content teams should collaborate closely to determine which topics are worth writing about, considering both trending topics and those with strong organic potential.

Content teams can offer insights into ongoing blog production, and PR professionals can suggest emerging trends. This collaboration allows for quick responses to media requests, helping you get in front of the right audience before your competitors.

This is also a super-efficient way to collect a bank of data or comments from clients that are restricted by time or resource themselves. You could even help them out by drafting up quotes and content on their behalf, before getting them to review and sign off.

4. You can ensure content is optimised for organic search

SEO is about much more than adding keywords and gaining backlinks, so understanding the different purposes of press releases and content is key. A press release is typically concise, delivering important announcements or facts in a digestible manner. Blog posts or articles on the other hand, allow for a more elaborate narrative.

To optimise content for organic search, don’t just copy and paste press releases into your blog. Instead, flesh them out with additional information, assets, or creative elements. Proper formatting with headers (H1s, H2s) and other best practices should also be employed to enhance visibility and searchability.

Through SEO, consumer research, and the expert knowledge of our partners, Petsure, we created a survey to identify the issues pet owners face. Our content consisted of creating a dedicated landing page to host the information, and a series of press releases to drip feed findings and expert advice to relevant domains.

5. Encourages promotion across multiple channels

If you’re not using social media to build brand awareness, you’re missing out. Content and PR teams may already be looking at social to monitor shares, brand mentions, and sentiment of a campaign, but it is essential to integrate social media into both content creation and PR tactics if it's not already included.

Social media offers diverse formats (video, images, audio, and text) that helps you connect with a broader audience. By leveraging social media, businesses can amplify PR efforts, extending their reach beyond traditional media outlets with press releases, product launches, and company announcements.

Which is better: PR or Content Marketing?

PR and Content Marketing both aim to craft compelling brand messages that resonate with their intended audiences.

They boost awareness, expand reach, build credibility, and drive sales. Both play vital roles in achieving broader business goals, so one isn’t inherently better than the other.

Instead, combining the channels can maximise your brand's visibility and credibility, ensuring a consistent and clear message. By leveraging the strengths of both PR and Content Marketing, you can create a comprehensive strategy that returns significant, measurable results.

By strategically combining PR and Content Marketing, businesses can create cohesive campaigns that resonate with audiences, achieving results that are far greater than what either could accomplish alone. This integrated approach ensures that every piece of content not only supports the brand’s narrative but also reaches the right people at the right time, making a significant impact on the brand's overall success.

Want to know more? Get in touch with our PR and Content Marketing team today.