ContentUsing Key PR Messages in Content Creation for SEO

Using Key PR Messages in Content Creation for SEO

Sometimes it's hard to get SEO, content creation, and PR working effectively together, but these three tips can help.

Sometimes it’s hard to get SEO, content creation, and PR working effectively together. You may have lots of great content ideas but they don’t quite deliver the maximum value to the client business. Or the client may have a PR campaign outside your control that doesn’t deliver the boost to SEO that it could have.

That’s where having a simple framework for defining key messages and mapping them to the content you create can be really useful. This is particularly true when you’re working with small clients where they may not have done detailed work in writing their overall marketing strategy.

The framework I use has three steps:

  • Creating a set of between five and 10 key messages
  • Creating a definitive piece of content for each of the key messages
  • Creating a sound bite for each key message that can be included in PR, presentations, tweets, and so on

Let’s take each of those in turn.

1. Key Messages

This is a great exercise that comes from the PR industry and I’m regularly surprised that many small to medium-sized businesses haven’t taken the time to go through it.

And it’s simply this – spend half a day with the client discussing who exactly their audiences are and what are the key messages they want to get across to each. Take time discussing and challenging each message so that you end up with something robust.

Once you have these defined, then planning content becomes so much easier.

2. Definitive Pieces of Content for Each Key Message

Now take each key message and create a piece of content that defines it fully. This definitive content should tell a compelling story about the people in the business and why the message is important.

Done well, the content you create here will serve at least two important tasks:

  • The story will in itself be good enough to attract links
  • The story will also inspire other pieces of content that further develop the message – and sometimes in unexpected ways

Have a look at how companies like Warby Parker and Patagonia develop strong stories that differentiate their business.

3. Memorable Sound Bite for Each Message

Now create a sound bite for each piece of definitive content. A sound bite is a short, memorable phrase of around 10 words that neatly sums up the whole message.

Have a look through top media stories, or even better feature articles that you can find on Inc.com. Look at how people being interviewed express their ideas. The best of them use phrases that stick in your mind – even if you forget what the rest of the story is about.

These memorable phrases don’t happen by accident – normally, they are polished and practiced for maximum impact. Such sound bites should resonate with the target audiences and can be used time and again in writing about the business.

They can also be dropped into media interviews and are the sort of phrases a reporter will remember and often quote verbatim. They have the advantage of being easily shared on social media – they have multiple benefits so are worth spending time on.

Using this simple framework has a number of advantages:

  • It gives you a solid foundation on which to build content that is business-focused
  • It helps you concentrate your content creation on what is most important for the business
  • It also helps build a closer relationship with the client and shows that you’re really interested in their business

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