Now that you have more of an understanding about what B2B PR is, the key elements of B2B PR, and if it’s right for you, we’re going to dive into what you need to prepare before kick-starting a B2B PR campaign.
Like all PR campaigns – whether it is B2C or B2B focused – knowing who your target audience is, having clear goals and SMART KPI’s in mind, a suite of high-res imagery for journalists to choose from, and a professional looking website are must-haves to ensuring the project can get off to a flying start.
However, when it comes to B2B PR, from our years of experience specialising in B2B and thought-leadership campaigns, we know there are also a few other things you need to have prepared:
Know what pillars you and your brand want to own and why.
Based on your brand’s target audience and key messaging, it’s important to be clear on a few pillars to own during the campaign. For example, if you are a thought-leader within the retail space, ‘Christmas Sales’ could be an important pillar for you to consider for the last quarter of the year.
Having 3-4 key pillars that are clear from the get-go allows your PR agency to ensure that every piece of content (whether it be for the website, press releases, etc.) relates to one of those focuses.
These pillars can also be used to form a content hub, which is defined as a central online destination that contains curated content around a specific topic. Creating a content hub that is housed on your website improves your SEO rankings, which page of Google you appear on, and will lead to more people visiting your website organically.
While choosing pillars may seem simple, it makes a huge impact as it helps guide the rest of the B2B PR strategy
Create gated-content pieces to house on your website.
In an ideal world, before the campaign commences, you would have a 1-3 content pieces on your website where people can view or download the assets in return for entering their email address. This means when website traffic increases due to the PR efforts, you are able to capture people’s details to establish or add to your database.
Building and nurturing this database constantly is invaluable, as it means that you can continue marketing to people that are already interested in your brand, which increases brand awareness, preference and drives sales.
Long form content works best for gated pieces, so think an e-book, research paper, or a collation of expert advice. Whatever form of content you choose, the most important thing is that it provides genuine value to your target audience.
If these gated-content pieces aren’t possible prior to kicking off the campaign, speak with your agency about getting this done as soon as possible, because they should be able to help and the sooner they are live, the better.
Have a CRM system in place.
To establish and grow your database, you need to have a CRM (Customer Relationship Management or Customer Relationship Manager) system in place. Your CRM will house information about your customer or client details such as their email, phone number, their industry, date of first contact, and other key details that will allow you to re-market to them in the future. If you are a small to mid-sized business, a few to explore are Vtiger, Zoho and Hubspot.
While a CRM does take time to set up properly and enter the correct data to begin with, the fact that it helps you and your brand streamline communication, sales activities, and automate repetitive tasks all in a scalable manner, makes it an essential tool for brands that want to execute an effective B2B PR campaign.
Plus, once you begin working with a PR agency, they will be able to help you get the most out of it, and help you continue nurturing your database to drive sales and revenue.
These are just a few of our expert tips! If you’d like to hear more about how to ensure your B2B PR campaign kicks off with a bang, please get in touch with us on 02 9779 0999 or via info@agent99pr.com.
Agent Nic
