Creating key messages that get the attention of the target audience sits at the core of any public relations campaign. By formulating a communications strategy with a specific audience in mind, a business can begin to build on its credibility and authority within the marketplace.
Failing to take this approach will make it much harder for businesses to grow their brand, establish a positive public perception and negatively impact on opportunities to generate new leads. Simply put, people need to be given a reason to care about a business!
First and foremost, businesses have to identify who they are targeting and how best to communicate with them.
As society becomes increasingly reliant on new technologies, there has never been so many ways to distrbute or absorb critical information. In addition to traditional print and broadcast media, the growth of digital channels now gives the public instant access to news and market updates from anywhere at any time.
It is therefore vital that key messages are strategically shared across platforms that are frequently accessed by the target audience.
Research
However, to create content that garners a positive response, businesses must develop an understanding of what information is relevant to them and how they can be reached.
Despite having industry insight and specialist knowledge, which will be extremely valuable to business communities across the marketplace, it will not resonate with the target audience if they are not understood.
This is why research is so critical. By developing an understanding of who they are wanting to target, businesses can outline the type of information the audience is interesting in receiving, identify the topical trends within a specific industry and how the content can be relatable and engaging.
Once this information is collated, businesses must begin to formulate a strategy that meets with the expectations of their target audience to realise the potential benefits that these communications deliver.
For instance, an article created for jobseekers or recruiters should read very differently to another targeting c-suite or senior management members. The more a business knows its audience, the better the connection will be.
Establishing the connection
After identifying the target audience, businesses should start creating content that incorporates a unique tone of voice to help form personal, meaningful and long-lasting relationships with those that read it.
However, with such a saturated marketplace, being able to stand aside from the competition is becoming increasingly difficult. Businesses must therefore use content as a catalyst to establish their own personality and brand identity.
This can be accomplished by creating content that focuses on business milestones, awards, individual achievements, new appointments and promotions, as well as more in-depth pieces such as market insight and thought leadership articles from senior executives.
Being transparent and open, with a consistent tone of voice in every piece of content, enables businesses to build trust and familiarity among their target audience.
This is extremely valuable when creating content that will sit on the website, blog or social media channels to keep existing customers interested whilst attracting new members to a growing community of followers.
Earned media
Now that the content has been created to resonate with the target audience, it has to be distributed across the appropriate channels. Securing media coverage is arguably the most effective way to reach not only the target audience, but people from further afield.
As businesses consistently feature in the media, they have more opportunity to build a positive reputation, connect with their audience and become a credible resource of information in the marketplace.
It is important to consider that the quality of content can often produce the most value, not the quantity of the coverage. When it comes to communicating with a target audience, creating content for trade media titles can potentially be more impactful and relatable to the readers.
As trade media titles publish content that revolves around a particular industry or profession, they frequently put a spotlight on individuals, senior teams as well as entire businesses that want to become recognised as industry leaders and experts.
By having a consistent presence in the trade media, businesses will increase their brand awareness, strengthen their reputation and boost their share of the market.
Engaging target audiences with consistent and concise messaging will give businesses the capacity to grow their following, penetrate new markets, generate new lead opportunities and ultimately provide them with the credibility they need to achieve their ambitious plans.
If you’d like to speak to our team about what we deliver and how we approach PR on behalf of our clients, then please visit: https://www.opencomms.co.uk.