In this blog we discuss:
- How silos between PR, content marketing and sales cost leads and revenue
- How PR sparks angles which fuel integrated campaigns and drive prospects through the funnel
- How to measure PR’s value in engagement, leads and deals
Imagine you are a B2B buyer. You spot a headline that grabs your attention – wow! It really speaks to the challenges you’re facing right now and makes you want to find out more. A sales rep follows up, but the message feels different and it’s thrown you off. By the time an email arrives, it has shifted again.
Each touchpoint is well-intentioned, but instead of reinforcing your interest, the inconsistencies make you wonder: do they really understand my problem? Can I trust what they’re saying? At that point, your attention drifts and you’re already considering another supplier.
This might sound like an extreme example, but it reflects a wider reality. Data shows 52% of sales professionals say misalignment costs revenue, yet only 23% believe their sales and marketing are strongly aligned.
The PR, content and sales silo
But how can PR help with sales? Surely PR is PR, and sales is just sales? It’s going to take more than a headline to nurture interest and bring a lead closer to conversion. The problem is that we tend to think of PR, content marketing and sales as three separate functions, each working in its own silo.
Joining the dots with Performance PR
This is where Performance PR comes in. Unlike traditional PR, Performance PR encompasses not only media relations, but also social media, creative and content marketing. And that’s really interesting because it is often content which is crucial for connecting the spark of a story with the detail of a sales conversation.
In Performance PR, content marketing is built in. The stories created through PR are developed into content, which explore topics in greater depth, then shared through the right channels so it reaches the right people. And rather than being judged solely on coverage as a traditional PR campaign would be, the impact is measured by what really matters to the business: engagement, qualified leads and deals moving through the pipeline.
PR as the spark
PR is often where many of the best ideas begin. The angles and stories it generates can be fed into wider marketing and lead generation campaigns, providing the material which can help engage buyers.
Take our work with cyber security company Bridewell. Together, we spotted a gap in the market; there was no authoritative research into the state of cyber security across critical national infrastructure. So we commissioned and developed their annual report which became a credible, newsworthy story which our media team placed in top-tier media. But it did much more than win headlines. It became a barometer for the industry which could be repurposed, quoted and shared, extending its value far beyond launch day. The report also provided the foundation for a whole range of content, such as blogs and articles, social campaigns and sales materials.
Subsequent to the campaign with Bridewell, research among 600 UK cyber security leaders showed the company had risen from ninth place in 2023 to the top five for unprompted consideration. In plain terms, more buyers thought of the company first, as a result of our work.
How PR helps feed the funnel
In Performance PR, content marketing and campaigns work as one connected effort to move prospects through the funnel, with the angles from media stories as the spark which starts it all.
Top of the funnel: PR creates awareness
A strong piece of research, a news angle or thought leadership in the media puts your brand in front of new audiences. When it appears in respected outlets or speaks to a genuine gap in the conversation, it carries more weight than marketing copy, because the credibility is earned rather than manufactured.
Middle of the funnel: PR themes fuel content marketing
The stories PR generates give marketing teams a foundation to create material which goes deeper into the topics. Imagine the media team commissions research which shows, for example, that ‘70% of finance leaders feel unprepared for upcoming regulatory changes’. That headline lands in the trade press and gets significant eyeballs as well as people talking.
From there, the marketing team can build the topics out into their campaigns. The research becomes a blog post which explains the specific challenges finance leaders face. It develops into a practical guide which explores the implications of non-compliance and eventually into a case study showing how one of your clients successfully navigated the same issue with your support.
This is the middle of the funnel at work. Prospects who were curious when they saw the headline now have the chance to dig deeper, test your expertise and understand more about what you do and why it matters to them.
Across the funnel: PR stories carried through campaigns
The value of that initial PR grows even more when it’s repurposed and delivered directly to target audiences. Coverage and research insights can be turned into nurture emails, promoted LinkedIn posts or the hook for an event. We often support clients in doing exactly this, ensuring each reuse keeps the authority of the original PR story while reinforcing the message through different channels. All the while, it helps prospects move closer to a decision.
By the time a sales conversation starts, the prospect has seen the story in the media, engaged with explanatory content and received campaigns which connect directly to their challenges.
Alignment drives stronger leads and engagement
When there’s alignment between PR, content marketing and sales, prospects already understand the issues you solve and have engaged with credible content along the way.
That depth of interaction shows up in the numbers: longer time spent on your site, higher click-through rates, more relevant email responses. When it comes to onboarding new business, it translates into fewer dead-end conversations and more prospects who are genuinely interested. It also shortens the sales cycle; the groundwork has already been laid, so sales can focus on building the relationship and closing the deal.
Measuring PR’s impact on pipeline
Traditional PR measurement has often stopped at coverage volume or impressions – how many articles appeared and how many people might have seen them. But of course with Performance PR, it’s all connected back to business outcomes, and therein the value lies. So when we want to know how PR and the resulting content has made an impact, helped move prospects down the pipeline and been a contributing factor to sales, this is what we measure:
- How much traffic has PR-inspired blogs, guides or case studies driven to websites? How much engagement and action have they inspired on social media?
- How many downloads or sign-ups has content generated? That could be from whitepapers, guides, webinars or events.
- How many marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) interacted with those assets along their journey?
Where did PR-driven content or coverage play a role in moving a prospect closer to becoming a customer?
The results speak for themselves when you can show the direct link between an earned story and a measurable outcome – a form filled in, a guide downloaded, a meeting booked or a deal closed. Performance PR can help you achieve this, but only if you stop thinking of it, along with content marketing and sales, in a silo. When all work as one, that’s what really feeds the pipeline.
