You know your company has a good piece of news to share. You have been meaning to write up a formal company announcement for weeks now. And yet, every time you go to write, your fingers pause over the keys. You get pulled away to put out a fire. Your client work just seems more important. Or maybe you just don’t know where to start.
Trust us, we are very familiar with the struggles our agency public relations clients go through to put their company first and get the piece of content out the door (we like to think we can help with that!)
But regardless of whether you write the content yourself or your PR firm provides the assist, the point is that content is valuable. You put hard-won time into pieces, and you want to capitalize on the news you have to best position your company for future success.
That’s why you need to be sure you’re making the most of every piece of content you have. It might seem incredibly simple, but the best advice usually is.
Are you getting the most out of your content?
Write it once. Use it many times.
At our Orlando PR firm, we like to talk about this concept so much, we made it into a graphic. (We call it the Wellons Wheel).
The idea is that you write content once and use it for the original purpose you intended. But too often, clients stop there. They don’t realize that they’re actually sitting on a goldmine. That same piece of content can be repurposed and used as an SEO blog, a social media post, a piece of sales collateral and/or a staff memo.
While your personal wheel can be slightly customized to fit your industry, the message is the same. When you create content, you should always be asking how else can I use this?
A content checklist
The Wellons Wheel can also be turned into a content checklist. We often see the cycle play out like this:
A client has an idea or a story come up. Let’s say it’s a milestone anniversary for the company. They notify their public relations agency, sending the necessary information. The agency drafts a press release and distributes it.
Next, the client can take this information and tweak it slightly for an SEO post on the company blog. This can be shared to social media with a great graphic and a link back to the site. At the same time, it can be included in a company eblast. If the client desired, the same could be designed as a postcard for a sales touch to inspire confidence in the company, and the client can share the great news with the staff.
This boosts the potential reach of the news way beyond the simple press release that was originally intended.
A content checklist might look like this:
- Write a press release
- Post an SEO blog
- Share on social
- Share in eblast
- Share internally
- Decide if sales material is appropriate
Any of these steps might also spur a follow up story or another idea, and the cycle begins again.
The point, of course, is efficiency and consistency. When you go to the trouble of sharing valuable insights or news, you want to maximize your return. Doing so is usually simple—it’s just a matter of implementing the system.
Need some help running the play or creating content in the first place? As a Central Florida PR firm, that’s our specialty. Give Will a call at 407-462-2718 or email him at will@wellonscommunications.com.