By Upendra Mishra
WALTHAM, MA—We all know that the business of news has completely changed. Your target consumers can subscribe to their favorite print newspaper, magazine or trade journal and may never open it!
Nowadays, many people have moved from getting their news and information from traditional print media to getting the news from social media networks or digital media outlets, such as Facebook, Twitter or the Huffington Post.
This migration from print to online news consumption has completely changed the landscape for media and business alike, prompting these markets to find new ways to reach their customers. Now, more than ever, it’s important for businesses to pay attention to PR and generating news about your company.
So, what should you do with the article your favorite media outlets have just published about your company?
The answer is: be smart about it and maximize it as a tool for content marketing. According to the Content Marketing Institute, 88% of Business-to-Business and 76% of Business-to-Consumer organizations are using content marketing as a linchpin of their online marketing strategy.
What is content marketing?
“Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action,” says the Content Marketing Institute. “Instead of pitching your products or services, you are providing truly relevant and useful content to your prospects and customers to help them solve their issues.”
How can your company start content marketing?
Here are a few simple steps to starting your content marketing strategy:
- Create a news tab on your website (if you already don’t have it), and update this section as soon as an article is published. It will keep your website up to date and fresh. Once you start populating your site with the news, search engines are likely to pick your website when someone is searching for information on the type of services your firm provides. By default, search engines pick news items first.
- Make sure you tweet the article. If you don’t have a Twitter account, create one for your business. Tweeting is easy these days. All you have to do is click a button after your account is set up.
- Share the content on LinkedIn. Again, if you don’t have an account, create one. It is simple to share—just a click.
- Collect a few articles and design an e-newsletter. The newsletter can have a one paragraph summary of the article and then link it to original article. Once it is professionally designed, send out an email to existing and prospective clients.
- Look for other social and digital media forums where you can share the article. There is a social network for everything, so find the network where your customers are flocking!
If you have implemented these steps in your strategy, the cumulative effect will be very powerful. Content marketing will help you with SEO (search engine optimization), give you credibility in the online marketplace and enhance your brand.
Remember, you aren’t saying this yourself. A legitimate media outlet is saying this about you and all you are doing is sharing it. Happy Marketing.
(Mr. Mishra is founder and president of the Waltham, MA-based The Mishra Group, an integrated full-service marketing and public relations firm. Since 1997, the Mishra Group has provided comprehensive, results-oriented solutions for the fast-paced new age of online and traditional marketing through the area’s best writers and editors and most talented graphic and Web designers and digital media strategists. For more information, visit: www.MishraGroup.com.)
