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We are going to do inbound marketing, so why would we need PR?

Posted by Debby Penton on 12th November 2014

Inbound marketing is the latest big thing when it comes to B2B marketing and lead generation. And the tech sector is hot for it. Recent research by Sirius Decisions showed that use of marketing automation systems is at its highest amongst US B2B tech companies with 65% adoption, and we are seeing an increasing number of clients and prospects over here doing or considering the same.

And who can blame them. The mighty content generating machine that is Hubspot makes for a compelling and noisy story. And it seems so simple. There are natty little equations that tell you how many leads you can generate by adding in xx many blogs and xx many hero pieces of content and xx tweets. It’s like lead generation sausage machine nirvana.

But where is all this content going to come from? And with all your competitors deploying the same tactics, your prospects are going to get much better at blocking out your brilliant “5 top tips to optimising your xxxx” article. So you need outstanding content that is going to get you noticed in the market.  And then you need to get that content out into the big wide world, so it supports your SEO and helps people find you in the first place. And that is exactly where PR comes in.

First of all, one of the biggest challenges for marketers wanting to implement an inbound marketing strategy is how to feed the ever hungry marketing automation system. Only the lucky few have people within their businesses with the time, skill or inclination to write thought leadership content, blogs, white papers or even tweet. And so the answer is usually to outsource.

And then the savvy marketers realise that an integrated approach to communications is where the real power lies. And integrated PR-led content to your inbound marketing engine is where things really start to motor.

Your PR agency will be the experts at telling you how to craft a story around your product and messages that engage target audiences, and you need to harness that skill to help motivate your target audience to come to your website and find out more about you. Once you’ve lured them in then you need to deliver a hub of rich content designed to encourage them to part with their contact details to see it. And at that point you can begin your nurturing programme and invite them to view various bits of content that help progress them along the sales cycle, until the point you think they are ready for a sales conversation with you.

Ignore PR and you may end up with a rich hub of content on your website, that no one ever finds out about. Check out our recent case study about our work with IS Decisions where our content-led approach to PR has helped build awareness, authoritative links, and generate leads as well as give their sales team content to have more meaningful issues-led discussions with potential customers.

Debby Penton

Motivated, competitive and highly experienced, Debby drives excellence across the agency and leads by example, going the extra mile to create stand-out campaigns and a dynamic agency culture. As CEO, Debby champions a new breed of PR that meets the evolving communication needs of today’s tech companies.