What PR Experts Want Content Marketers To Know


9 Comments
  1. Hi Sara,

    Very valuable stuff here. These two industries definitely need to talk more because they are both in the same business and want to add value.

    Thanks again
    Dave at NinjaOutreach

    • Hey Dave! Thanks for reading.
      I completely agree. Writing this article was a really refreshing an educational experience for me!

  2. Couldn’t agree more, Everett & Rand. As SEOs begin to shift their primary focus from keyword usage to customer focus, they are all (hey, myself included) realizing that there is a lot to continuously learn about this thing we call “marketing.” I think it’s easier for a PR person to learn how to use a keyword or insert a link than an it is for an SEO to learn how to have charisma, persistence, benefit-focused messaging and the overall ability to appeal to people…different kinds of people…in different ways! I doubt a couch potato SEO could pick up a girl (or boy) at a bar very effectively.

    About writing solely for potential customers…I believe part of the reason (in many corporate scenarios) is the pressure of R.E.V.E.N.U.E from the top of the corporate ladder. When a budget guides most of what a company does, you end up with:

    1) early-month promotions focused on driving sales with blog posts and email marketing delivering the message.
    2) mid-month panic promotions with more blog posts and email messages.
    3) last minute email marketing & blog posts of desperation to promote a sale, a discount, whatever.

    The crew at the C-level need to buy into the long-term value of content marketing that builds trust, community and brand affinity despite lack of immediate cash flow. Easier said than done when you’re reporting to a board, I know, but must find a way.

  3. I really like what Joan said

    “Too many content marketers skip the first important step: Identifying their target market(s). An alarming number of self-published authors, for example, cannot define the people for whom they are writing. (I know that because I ask.) If you don’t know your target market, you may as well be marketing the book wearing a blindfold.”

    Totally agree – and I’d add that a lot of content marketers think they’re writing solely for potential customers, when they need to think broader and consider writing for the influencers of those customers (which may be a different audience with needs/preferences of their own).

    • Great point, Rand.
      All these tips also have me positioned to not only question the audience, but also the purpose of the content I produce. Is it simply throw away content, or is it something that can truly add value to a conversation for multiple users/personas? I know the temptation to just put quick, fresh content up is hard to resist, but what’s the good if it just gets lost in the noise?

  4. Wow, thank you for pulling this together Sara! It is interesting to see how intertwined and similar the two concepts are, and we mustn’t forget from whence we came. Great tips and thoughts from everyone!

    • Thanks, Everett.
      I really like what Molly said about storytelling. It gave me inspiration to look at how brand voice is working within content marketing.

      • Me too, Sara. I imagine the target audience really needs to be able to connect with one of the character(s) in the story for it to truly work. I’m going to try and use this in my future writing. Great article, by the way!

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A photograph of Sara Downey Robinson sitting on top of a block behind a constructed city scape.

Sara Downey Robinson

Sara Downey Robinson was a contributor for Inflow.

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