In today's digital world - increasingly reliant on algorithms and artificial intelligence - information noise is huge and audience attention is becoming a scarce commodity. As a result, brands have to look for new ways to distribute content and reach their target audience. It is no longer enough to simply talk about themselves. In this context, content marketing and public relations are merging into one strategic whole playing a key role in creating valuable and engaging content that fits into the brand's communication strategy. Content is becoming a PR tool, building authority and credibility, not just a sales generator. The content is distributed not only through the brand's own channels, but also through the media (via PR), which multiplies its reach and persuasive power.
Content marketing is not just about sales, it is about building long-term relationships and a pillar of public relations
At first glance content marketing may seem like just a tool for generating website traffic or increasing sales. In reality, it plays a much bigger role, especially in the context of PR. Content marketing allows you to subtly but extremely effectively shape your company's image, position yourself as an expert (expert articles) and establish an authentic two-way relationship with your audience.
Instead of a pushy advertising message, the brand delivers the most effective forms of content marketingthat respond to real needs and questions. For example, FM Logistic created the Welcome Inside campaign run on LinkedIn and YouTube. This was a series of videos made on FM Logistic's logistics platforms, which not only showed how they operate, but also educated about the operations that are carried out there. Each of them takes a closer look at a different logistics issue, presented by individual employees. A total of nine films were produced, covering the following topics: e-commerce, factory logistics issues, co-packing and international transport services, co-manufacturing, the functioning of the multicustomer platform, logistics for pharmaceuticals, the functioning of transshipment warehouses, issues related to the storage of individual high-value products and TAPA (Transported Asset Protection Association) certification. These types of activities attract the attention of the audience, build trust, authentic relationships and, in public relations, are the essence of building a positive image and authority. Over time, they translate into customer loyalty, brand awareness and winning new business for their industry.
Content public relations - content in the service of relationships and credibility
Content marketing and public relations are not competitors, but strategic partners, working towards a common goal: building a strong, credible and positively perceived brand. Content PR is an integrated approach where the creation and distribution of valuable content is a tool to achieve PR objectives such as reputation enhancement, crisis management and maintaining good relations with the media and the public.
What is content in PR?
In PR, content has a profound informational, educational and image dimension:
- Press Release as strategic content: While traditionally a press release is used to communicate news (e.g. a service promotion, a personnel change), in modern PR it is also becoming a vehicle for expert and analytical content. Rather than focusing solely on the factual, the modern press release often includes data from unique research, expert commentary or cross-sectional industry analysis that positions the company as a thought leader and provides the media with ready-made, valuable material for publication.
- Expert articles, reports and white papers: It is content that has the greatest authority-building power in PR. Developing in-depth market analysis, industry forecasts or detailed white paper is crucial for positive media relations. Journalists are more likely to publish material based on unique data and comments from a company's expert.
- Speeches and presentations: Content prepared for conferences, webinars or panel discussions is a direct form of contact between the brand's expert and the public, strengthening its position and credibility.
PR uses content marketing to: gaining natural and valuable backlinks (which supports SEO), building narrative reach and, above all, giving the brand a human face and an authentic voice.
The secret of content marketing is insight - the key to the audience's heart
Before we can start creating content, however, we need to understand who we are really talking to. This is where insight - a kind of insight - a deep, human insight that goes beyond demographics, algorithms or statistics - enters the scene. It is insight that makes creation of valuable content hits the spot and evokes emotion - direct interaction with the audience - and builds their loyalty.
David Ogilvy, the advertising legend, was right when he said that people don't always say what they really think. That is why it is not enough to ask a customer in a survey what he or she needs. You have to observe them, listen to them and, above all, show empathy.
How do you find valuable insight?
- Mistakes and frustrations are worth observing: think about what annoys potential customers? What are their everyday problems? The insights of the Snickers campaign "You're not yourself when you're hungry" were born from a simple, universal observation: hunger causes us irritation that we wouldn't normally feel.
- Look for emotional tensions: What are the hidden desires, fears or aspirations of your target group? The insight behind Nike's legendary 'Just Do It' campaign was about the internal struggle many people had with a lack of motivation to exercise.
- Take a look at forums and social media: You will find genuine, unembellished opinions in places where people talk freely about their problems and share advice. Look for the questions that recur and the frustrations they express.
In both PR and content marketing, insight is the foundation. It is what allows you to create a story that resonates and deliver content that has real value.
Storytelling: A story that builds a bond
People don't buy products, they buy solutions and emotions. And the best way to convey emotions is storytelling. A well-told story can put a human face on a brand and has the potential to become something close to the potential audience. One non-obvious example of storytelling that builds lasting relationships is Dove's 'Real Beauty' campaign. Rather than focusing on the benefits of soap, Dove told a story about how women perceive their own beauty. It showed real women with different body types and skin colours, challenging the beauty canons imposed by the media. This campaign, although it did not tell a 'product' story, built an extremely strong relationship with the audience, positioning Dove as a brand that understands and supports women.
Remember to keep your stories authentic and emotional, as audience awareness is growing and people these days are sensitive to falsehoods. Engage your audience's emotions to make them memorable and remember to be consistent with your brand values so that each story reinforces what your company believes in.
Variety of formats and the power of synergy between SEO and public relations
In today's world, you need to speak different languages to reach different audiences. Some prefer to read, others to listen and others to watch. That's why it's so important to diversify content formats in your content marketing efforts.
- Long blog articles, detailed e-books or the regular publication of reports (also in the form of infographics) are a great way of positioning yourself as an expert in the industry and thus building your image as an expert in the media environment, also by passing on expertise. With such content, you can better answer users' questions and appear high in search results. In PR, these expanded formats provide an excellent basis for the creation of pitchy (press proposals) to the media, providing them with ready-made, factual sources.
- Short videos and reels on social media, as well as infographics (e.g. via Facebook), are ideal for quickly attracting attention and sharing information, engaging audiences, increasing brand awareness and reaching a wider audience.
- Podcasts allow you to reach your listeners on the way to work or during a workout, building a deeper and valuable relationship with your audience.
- Product descriptions: often underestimated but very important in content marketing - well-crafted product descriptions not only help with purchasing decisions, but also increase the SEO value of a website and support the creation of content that addresses the specific needs of potential customers.
Whichever format you choose, remember SEO and content optimisation. Even the best text won't serve its purpose if it doesn't reach its target audience or nobody finds it.
- Keywords: Use phrases that your potential customers use in search engines. Remember to include keywords naturally in headlines and content to optimise your marketing presence in Google Trends and search engines. It is important to also keep these phrases in mind in texts sent to the media (e.g. press release headlines or expert article topics), which increases the chance that a journalist will use them in a publication. This, in turn, supports the PR goal: gaining a valuable backlink (link building), which at the same time raises the SEO authority of the entire domain.
- User value: The algorithms of Google and other search engines are getting smarter. They reward a lot of valuable content that actually helps users by answering audience needs and questions and providing unique information from reliable sources. Texts created with the user in mind are at the same time ideal material for media distribution - because by definition they are interesting, unique and useful to readers, i.e. crucial for PR activities.
Hear the voice of data - examples and figures
To better illustrate how content marketing works in Poland and the benefits of a well-developed marketing strategy:
- In 2025, as many as 83.72% companies in Poland have been convinced of the effectiveness of content marketing
- SEO, expert content and video in various formats are the most commonly used tactics in content marketing activities.
- Of the brands that blog regularly, many see an increase in organic traffic - which translates into more new audiences and better search results for the site.
- Research also shows that blogging companies have even 434% more pages indexed than those who do not have a company blog.
The figures are clear: content marketing is not a trend, but the foundation of digital communication in Poland. Investing in expert, SEO-optimised content is a key strategy that directly supports PR objectives - building authority, increasing visibility and gaining long-term audience and media attention. Each indexed page is an additional chance to be found and recognised as a credible source.
How do you do content marketing? Always with public relations in mind
Content marketing is not a one-off action, but an ongoing process that builds long-term relationships based on trust. It is the bridge that connects the brand to the audience. If it is well designed and embedded in a company's content marketing strategy, it can stand the test of time and changing trends. Content marketing activities should be measured, optimised and constantly adapted to the needs of the audience - the target group - in order to truly provide content that translates on business objectives, brand image and increased sales.
But is it possible to do content marketing effectively without a PR strategy? It is important to remember that what a brand communicates through content (content marketing) constitutes its public image (public relations), and without a proper strategy, it loses credibility and authority. Content marketing is a factory of raw material (data, expertise, stories) that PR converts into reputational capital - i.e. positive and authoritative mentions in the media. In an age of information hype, media and audiences do not trust declarations, but evidence. Reports or expert articles created as part of content marketing are the most reliable evidence of a company's competence and expert position, which are then distributed by public relations specialists. A brand that regularly provides valuable and helpful content builds a buffer of trust. This is invaluable, for example, in crisis situations, as a trusted and well-known expert brand is more likely to have its crisis communications positively received.
Content marketing provides the voice and public relations provides the brand with a credible medium and a stage on which this voice resonates. The synergy of these two areas is the standard today - effective, credible and measurable communication with the market.
