Inbound PR

Chapter 5Generating New Business with Inbound PR

Practicing What You Preach

As a PR agency or communications team, how much time do you spend building your own organization's profile with your own content? Many would say “none” or “barely any” but in the digital age, this is unacceptable. And isn't this what you ask clients, too? Isn't trying to convince them that they need to build their online profile with content what you are selling?

Also, why are you asking clients things like “Do you need a new, sustainable way to drive people to your business and attract clients?” “Do you struggle being seen as a credible and authoritative brand within your industry?” “Are your current methods not bringing the right results?” to figure out how they differentiate themselves but not asking yourself about these things or choosing to ignore them?

When it comes to you—the communications expert—you fail in communicating about yourself.

Yes, doing PR and marketing for yourself requires time, effort, and commitment, but it works, just as it does for clients or customers. And because PR people are storytellers and content creators at heart, practicing inbound PR for themselves could quickly become natural because they are doing it for clients already.

Much of this may be more relevant to agencies; however, all of these practices can apply to internal communications teams. For example, your internal team wants executive buy-in for a new social media campaign for a new product. Show them how social ...