A great PR strategy for your B2B organisation means telling great stories with compelling data and working creatively with media as an amplifying channel.
We asked our friend Kirsteene Phelan, Director Of Communications at travel search platform Rome2rio, to give us a peek at how she greases her PR wheels with smart, data-driven content.
PR has a mixed reputation. From the decadent (yet uproarious) incompetence of Edina Monsoon in Absolutely Fabulous to its more serious role in spinning a skewed view of truth in light of corporate scandals, the discipline tasked with managing brand reputation could do with some rebranding itself.
But the tactics used by a PR professional can be used to bolster the results of your B2B content marketing campaigns. Here’s a rundown of some PR techniques I’ve employed to amplify content created in my role as Director Of Communications at Rome2rio.
PR tactics can be used to bolster your B2B content marketing campaigns. Click To TweetStorytelling with data
We created a project called The Global Connectivity Ranking, in collaboration with respected demographer Bernard Salt. It explored the connection between a city’s international flight connections and that same city’s importance geopolitically.
Rome2rio collected data about international flight connections to create the content and passed this to Bernard for analysis, simultaneously publishing our findings in The Australian (in print and online) and via our landing page.
Once we completed the first day exclusive period that we agreed upon as part of the project, we were free to then distribute our content via our preferred methods.
We got good results with syndication across 26 publications and five languages worldwide, not to mention the additional social exposure via Twitter and Facebook.
These key PR principles were our playbook:
1. We started with an exclusive
Media outlets are constantly presented with story ideas. Find the outlet and journalist that best matches your needs and will be most receptive to your content and offer them an exclusive. One well considered placement can set off a chain reaction of additional coverage.
2. We provided great visuals
The visual components of our content were compelling and easy to reuse. Great images are vital for PR success.
Read more: The value of long-form content for marketers
3. We tailored our message
Analyse your content for interesting angles that would appeal to different audiences or journalists. For this project, we created separate press pitches for journalists in different countries.
4. We used Twitter
Twitter is a great tool for capturing the attention of journalists and interest groups. For this project, we tagged some key interest groups in the accompanying media for each tweet and used a series relevant of hashtags as well.
Data-driven content can fire up your PR engine
5. We kept trying
PR can be tough; many a pitch has ended up straight in the junk pile. However, if you create compelling content and pick targets who are writing about the same or similar projects and you take the time to personalise and outline the value of your content to your target media you’ll eventually turn out a winner.
Whatever your B2B organisation specialises in, consider how you can use data to create meaningful stories. These stories not only form proof points for your customers but well-positioned ones can hook in the media and an even wider audience – all adding to your word of mouth and digital footprint.
Looking for great content to help tell your B2B story? Contact us for a chat!
