LISTEN: The Publio Podcast S1 E16 on Spotify. Public Relations Strategy Needs a Content Hub
Your public relations strategy requires all aspects of your entire communications platform, especially your content hub. In PR-speak, you describe your platform as PESO – paid, earned, shared and owned.
“If you don’t understand how these different types complement each other and promote your brand, then you’re missing an enormous opportunity to connect with your audience,” said Kathleen McMorrow, principal of The Communications Optic. McMorrow appeared on this episode of the Publio Podcast hosted by Publio CEO Keith Reynolds.
A Public Relations Strategy Professional Defines PESO
Paid content is advertising. You own the content, and you control the message, however, you purchase the space that publishes the content. In effect, you rent that space’s audience. It’s effective, but only if the audience decides to visit your space.
Earned media appears in the editorial space. You get it when journalists recognize you, or your organization, as noteworthy. This type of content is “earned” because you cannot pay a journalist to publish the story. Journalists publish the story because they – and their audience – recognize your leadership in your market or community.
Shared refers to social media. These are the tweets, posts and updates that people share about your business. While social users may share your articles and images, the messages they attach to them are out of your control. Shared media carries a risk because you cannot control what people say about you. However, the potential to amplify your message and build a larger audience is too attractive to ignore. In his eBook, “Own Your Content,” Publio CEO Keith Reynolds includes shared content as part of earned media. However, he agrees that however you categorize your content, all points about how all your content must take your audience to your core message are valid.
Owned media is your website, social media channels, blogs, webinars, brochures and more. Organize these elements under a content hub, and all of your paid, earned and shared strategies will point back to you.
Your Content Hub is at the Center of Your Public Relations Strategy
Your content hub is the place where all of your ads, editorial stories, and social influencers reference whey they talk about your brand to their audiences. This is where your audience gets the stories about your brand, as well as your perspective on issues that you and your audience care about. Take the next step, your content hub is where you build your audience and gain their trust.
“Your content hub is the essence of the phrase “content is king,” Reynolds pointed out. “Brand owners must view their owned content – their content hubs – as opportunities to grow their companies.”
Owned content is the first thing McMorrow looks at when she engages with her clients. How effectively do they use their hubs to communicate to their audience or market their products? Do they use their content hubs to engage potential customers?
“If [a client’s messages] are not on a par, their effectiveness in terms of creating successful publicity will be limited,” she said. “Journalists vet organizations that they don’t know well, or that haven’t been in the news. A pitch letter to a newspaper or trade journal can fall flat if the journalist looks at my client’s owned media only to find outdated or conflicting messages.”
Your content hub – the owned portion of PESO – has evolved to much more than a website or a blog where you merely logged your thoughts. “You must have a real plan and vision for your content hub, and it must complement everything else you’re doing in paid, earned and shared,” she emphasized
“With paid content, you stop getting attention when you stop paying,” Reynolds wrote in Own Your Content. “With earned and shared content, your audience may not get the story right. Owned content is your direct path to influence, qualified sales leads, partnerships and backlinks that support your campaigns.”
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Publisher’s M.O. Masterclass
Your content is your unique voice in the marketplace. The Publisher’s M.O.™ Masterclass is a self-paced online learning course designed for the marketing public. In addition to the learning sessions, you get lifetime access to the Publisher’s M.O. Worksheet, access to office hours, and more.
The masterclass explains our 7-Bucket strategy and the tools that will recalibrate and realign your content strategy for better business and sales performance. The Publisher’s M.O. Masterclass is perfect for business owners, entrepreneurs, professional marketing managers and their teams.