Maximising Your Marketing Funnel with Strategic PR
For a long time, PR has been seen as part of marketing. But really, it's an entirely separate discipline demanding distinct skills, perspectives and strategic initiatives.
Here lies an untapped potential for business owners and managers: merging PR with your marketing and sales efforts can significantly amplify your brand's impact and revenue streams.
PR and sales experts may walk different paths and talk different languages, but at their core, both thrive on building robust relationships.
The magic unfolds when these paths converge, transforming a conventional sales journey into an enthralling PR-driven marketing funnel. This funnel isn't just about generating leads; it's about nurturing these leads into loyal brand advocates.
Understanding the Marketing Funnel
The marketing funnel serves as a blueprint, guiding potential customers from their initial brand encounter to the point of purchase. It's segmented into three pivotal stages: Awareness, Consideration, and Decision.
Awareness: The Meet-Cute 🌟 Here, it's all about making a memorable entrance. Your aim is to captivate an audience that's yet to discover your brand, sparking curiosity and leaving an indelible mark.
Consideration: Building the Relationship 💬 As we delve into the Consideration phase, it's time to nurture this budding relationship. This stage calls for content that resonates on a deeper level, fostering a genuine connection with your prospects.
Decision: The Moment of Commitment 💍 At the Decision stage, your audience is poised to take the leap. This is where compelling offers and persuasive calls-to-action come into play, converting prospects into loyal customers.
Mastering these stages empowers your brand to stand out, not just as a choice but as the definitive choice, thereby refining your lead nurturing and conversion tactics.
What does the PR Funnel Look Like?
The PR funnel mirrors the marketing funnel's structure but with a distinct PR twist, focusing on transforming brand stories into powerful public relations campaigns.
Awareness: The Introduction Scene 🎥 This stage is about making a grand entrance in the eyes of journalists, editors, and content creators. The goal is to ignite their interest and make a lasting impression.
Engagement: Building the Connection 🤝 Here, your brand's narrative should not only inform but also engage and bond with the media audience, establishing a trusted and relatable presence.
Publicity: The Commitment Phase 🎤 In the Publicity stage, the aim is to turn casual interest into staunch advocacy. This is achieved through compelling messaging that encourages the media to actively support and endorse your brand.
Recognising the nuances of the PR funnel stages is akin to understanding the phases of a burgeoning relationship, from the initial meeting to a deep, committed partnership.
PR Tactics and Strategies for Each Part of the Funnel
Each stage of the PR funnel necessitates tailored tactics and strategies to guide your audience from awareness to advocacy.
Awareness Stage
Objective: Attract a new audience through aspirational and inspirational content and stories.
Press Releases and Media Kits: These focus on the brand's lifestyle appeal, which can be aspirational and inspirational, attracting new media to your brand.
Social Media Buzz: Utilising platforms like Instagram and Pinterest taps into the aspirational visual content, which is key to attracting new audiences, especially in lifestyle sectors.
Influencer Partnerships: Partnering with influencers aligns with creating aspirational content that attracts a new audience.
Engagement Stage
Objective: Connect with the media and build relationships, providing insight and exclusive knowledge for publicity and story inspiration.
Tailored Content: Creating content for specific media segments aligns with providing insightful and exclusive information. Media Relations: Regular engagement with journalists and bloggers helps build those essential relationships.
Exclusive Offers: Offering exclusive access to new collections or insights is perfect for deepening media relationships and providing exclusive content.
Collaborative Content Creation: Co-creating content with media partners is an excellent strategy for engagement and building relationships.
Community Engagement: This shows a commitment to the lifestyle and values of the brand, which is key to building authentic media relationships.
Publicity Stage
Objective: Convert media audiences and creators into partners for collaboration and story sharing.
Storytelling: Crafting compelling brand stories resonates with lifestyle audiences and is essential for converting media into brand advocates.
Media Training: Equipping spokespeople to communicate effectively ensures consistent and impactful brand messaging.
Public Speaking Opportunities: Speaking engagements position the brand as a thought leader, fostering partnerships.
Brand Ambassadors: Utilising lifestyle figures as brand ambassadors can effectively turn media figures into partners who embody and advocate for the brand.
We hope that you've found some useful insights and examples in this article. If you'd like to start using a digital PR tool to save yourself time, effort and resources, start your free 14-day trial with Flaunter.
