Building brand influence through owned content

Katherine Grubaugh is vice president of integrated marketing at Method Communications.

PR pros must be constantly on the lookout for new ways to hook journalists. 

And when your (and your executives’) time is limited, a helpful tool might just be your website. 

When strategically developed, your brand’s owned digital content does more than inform prospective customers; it can create compelling storylines for momentum announcements, thought leadership and more. 

Here are a few strategies for leveraging your brand’s owned content to enhance PR impact: 

From resource center to dynamic newsroom

Many brands have a basic resource center — it might house an old press kit, your logo file and legal disclaimers. But forward-thinking companies are evolving these spaces into dynamic newsrooms that attract journalists and industry analysts, as well as customers and prospective employees. 

The key is creating content that serves multiple audiences. An original research report, for instance, can provide journalists with proprietary data, while helping prospective clients understand market trends. 

This way, the work your content marketing or sales teams are doing can bolster your PR efforts, and with more traffic to the site, your web team has a bigger incentive to develop fresh content. A win-win! 

Design for discoverability

Stop burying your best stories in chronological blog posts or scattered across different sections on the website. Instead, organize content thematically to help your audiences quickly find relevant information. 

Once organized, your web content can be a treasure trove of pitchable stories and easy searchability when you’re looking for the perfect response to a Qwoted opp or X call for submissions. 

Bonus: Better web navigation and relevant content helps boost your website’s ranking in search engines, meaning your newly organized content has a better chance of being seen as a top result on platforms like Google. 

Develop a proactive issues hub

Transform your basic FAQ page into a dynamic resource center that makes it easy to share updates quickly when stakes are high. This approach is particularly valuable during sensitive periods, like an industry crisis or pre-IPO quiet period, when your ability to respond to media inquiries may be limited.

A well-designed issues hub should feature regularly-updated fact sheets with key metrics, industry context and clearly articulated positions on common topics. When you’re unable to provide on-record commentary, you can direct reporters to your website to see the latest approved information. 

The key is maintaining current, thorough information during “business as usual” times, so it’s ready when you need it most. 

Measure content impact

Success metrics should go beyond basic engagement stats of page views and time-on-site — what really counts is how your owned content influences media coverage. Pay attention to the quality of incoming press inquiries, the pickup of your pitched content or how often your data is cited. 

Remember: An owned content strategy is an investment that requires ongoing attention and resources. But you can start with one, high-value content initiative and consistently evaluate how your digital assets support your communications objectives. 

Because when done right, your digital owned content can be an invaluable resource that strengthens media relationships, enhances crisis response and generates compelling stories that resonate with journalists and stakeholders.