An important lesson about content from the PR network

Over the last week or so, I have been networking a lot with PR pros in the Denver area. I didn’t get their permission to write about them, so I’ll just thank them as a group – Thank you all for taking time out of your schedules to meet with me and giving me something to write about on my blog.

One thing stood out in all of the conversations I had with them – content is still king. Whether you’re making a post on Facebook or writing a history book for your employer, the content in words or pictures or moving pictures is what will connect with your audience.

Audiences can’t and won’t connect with your company or brand, especially in today’s message-saturated world, unless you have content that attracts them, pulls them in, makes them a believer and eventually inspires them to be an ambassador. Content is still the king. Without stellar content, you don’t have anything.

Content can come in many forms, words, pictures and moving pictures: flyers, point of purchase materials, advertisements, press releases, website copy, videos, Facebook posts, corporate intranet posts, corporate emails and memos, etc … I could go on for a long time so I’ll stop, but it should be obvious that without these things, we really wouldn’t be able to run a business, at least not successfully.

But the real trick isn’t just hiring someone or using someone you have to create content, it’s creating excellent, cohesive, compelling, creative, (insert positive adjective here) content. Many organizations look at content like it’s a giant task list that they will check off as they go along.

Unfortunately, the task list didn’t have a required form at the top that forces them to create a fully-integrated content strategy. Without it, companies pepper customers, employees, interest groups, government officials and all of their obscure family members with messages that often don’t coincide, let alone, agree with one another.

That’s why I’m a believer in fully-integrated communications, even if that means communications needs at least a dotted line to sales and marketing. Think about it. What would happen if half of your accounting team reported up to the CEO and the other half reported up to the CFO and you didn’t have a controller. I have a feeling you’d end up with a lot of numbers that just don’t reconcile with each other and you’d probably end up with a roommate named Bubba in a federal prison.

The same is true with corporate communication, except you’re more likely to end up in the unemployment line than in a federal prison. People want consistent, compelling messages, and they’re quick to point out inconsistencies. Having been in communications for over a dozen years, I’ve taken that phone call many times.

If you need help with your strategic communications structure and messaging, Jakel Communications can help. Contact our Denver PR agency today.