Is content marketing really a new tool in a marketer’s toolkit? Or is content marketing another way of looking at public relations? Are content marketing and PR similar? My co-workers and I talked about that in a call earlier this week.
What’s the official definition of content marketing? I checked with the Content Marketing Institute and you’ll be surprised to hear that they have 6 definitions! I found this definition for practitioners:
“Content marketing is about delivering the content your audience is seeking in all the places they are searching for it. It is the effective combination of created, curated and syndicated content.” Source: Michael Brenner. The goal here is to develop a connection with your customer which encourages them to buy your product or service.
So, what my co-workers and I decided was that content marketing is similar to PR in these 4 basics ways:
- Know your audience. Who are you writing for and what are they interested in?
- Define your messages. You should have something interesting to say and state that up front.
- Be newsworthy. PR people talk about the uniqueness of your news. Content marketers talk about original content. What do you have that no one else has?
- Reach your audience where they are. Market that new content through every channel and form possible, such as publications and social media.
If you are a PR practitioner, do you see an overlap with content marketing? I’d like to hear your thoughts on this.