Marketing budgets plummeted from 11.0% of overall company revenue in 2020 to just 6.4% in 2021, according to Gartner’s 2021 CMO Spend Survey, but despite the downturn in funds available to them, marketers continue to embrace and increase their investments in content marketing.
According to “The State of Media & Content Planning” (HubSpot, 2022), 31% of marketing teams now allocate more than 50% of their total marketing budget to content marketing. A whopping 70% of marketing teams dedicate at least 30% of all marketing dollars to content marketing, according to the report.
Long an ingredient of successful PR
Clients and prospects often come to PR Return for content marketing support, and this has grown to represent a significant portion of our business. We create educational white papers and ebooks, case studies, web copy, infographics and more, and our senior team of writers works efficiently to create concise, compelling content that engages and educates our clients’ target audiences.
“PR Return continuously produces high quality work, supporting our broader lead gen, SEO and social strategies. Our competitors’ marketing departments are, on average, six times the size of ours, but Logistyx outperformed them last year, ranking second in backlinks and first in e-books and white papers,” said Lisa Henthorn, a former VP of MarComm at Logistyx, now an E2open company. “PR Return produces high-quality content, despite the complexity of our product, and they get projects right the first time.”
Always seeking to educate
Of course, we still help clients secure great media coverage, but we advocate for education in everything we do. Educational content helps others make better decisions and perform more effectively and for these very reasons is proactively sought out by those with a need to know.
Just as target audiences seek out educational content for their own use, members of the media need expertise and educational content to help them help their readers, viewers and followers. Education anchors so many of our client PR campaigns, because it offers organizations a cost-effective way to build relationships and become a trusted resource to their customers, members, prospects and other VIPs.
Synergies of content marketing and media relations
Vast changes have impacted the media universe in recent years, and many have reduced staff, incorporated sponsored editorial content, and found other creative ways to stay solvent and successful as the world evolves. PR Return helped its clients evolve in stride, increasing thought leadership efforts to contribute content to important media outlets, establish thought provoking blogs and feeds that capture attention and traffic, and drive leads with research and educational resources.
Sprinkle in some compelling news and media relations efforts, and you have a two-headed PR beast that drives synergies and fuels an array of marketing efforts. When that latest piece of research or executive commentary about a new development in the industry gets covered, promote it in social channels, on the blog and elsewhere. Have a new and particularly insightful take on recent legislation or other impactful events? Create a blog post to help customers and prospects navigate the new development, but don’t stop there. Leverage that post to build and strengthen media relationships and take those same messages to readers and viewers; then promote that media coverage through your owned channels. Snowball effect achieved.
It's no wonder content marketing has taken off in recent years. As marketers tighten their belts, the cost-effective and impressive results generated with a PR program built heavily on content marketing and media relations provide the synergies, credibility and cross-pollination they need to win in any crowded and competitive market.
Commit to educating and like-minded partners
To be successful, commit to educating customers and prospects. Share knowledge and add value. Consider working with a seasoned partner who can understand and embrace your value propositions, envision and create compelling content, build relationships that matter, and take your content marketing and PR program to new heights.
Need to learn more about how deploying a more symbiotic approach to content marketing and PR can raise your organization’s game? Contact PR Return and we’ll help you identify your best opportunities.