A Public Relations Podcast: Smoke Signal Episode 3 – The PR Warrior

Smoke Signal, A Public Relations Podcast

In Episode 3 of Smoke Signal I speak with Trevor Young, a.k.a. the PR Warrior.

Trevor is well known on the PR circuit, having been a practitioner for over two decades, a regular speaker at industry events, and one of Australia’s earliest PR bloggers and tweeters. His blog, PR Warrior was ranked in the world’s top 100 PR blogs to follow in 2018 (#33).

The lines between PR and content marketing have certainly merged in recent years. In fact, in a recent global PR survey (which I speak more about in the In The News section of this podcast); nearly two-thirds of PR practitioners surveyed believe that in five years the average consumer will not be able to tell the difference between paid, earned and owned media.

In this context Trevor Young talks about the need for brands (and individuals) to embrace content marketing as a way to deeply engage and influence consumers.

Trevor defines content marketing as “strategically creating, publishing and amplifying original content that is of interest, relevance and value to a specific audience with an ultimate goal of influencing a desired outcome.”

He believes it is VITAL (Visibility, Influence, Trust, Advocacy and Leadership) that individuals and brands use the tools that we have available to make a connection with the audiences that are important to you.

Trevor admits today there is a lot of junk content out there but the common denominator among organisations who do it well is passion. They embrace it and have a culture of content in their organisation.

We discuss the different types of content and that while utility-based content (FAQs, informational needs, addressing pain points etc) is useful, and every organisation needs to do that, it is through leadership content where you can really set yourself apart by pushing the boundaries and inspiring people to think differently.

And the biggest mistakes when it comes to content marketing: wanting instant results; doing things as a campaign (it is not a campaign); and succumbing to pressure to repeatedly talk about your own products and services (follow the 80:20 rule).