How Digital PR Can Maximize Your Content Marketing Strategy

Content Marketing and Digital Public Relations are both relatively new terms. How can they work together to maximize brand awareness and marketing strategies for a brand?

After 70 years, IKEA finally decided to discontinue publishing its product catalog—a hallmark of the brand—in 2021. The Swedish brand first published a 16-page catalog in 1950. Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA’s founder, personally wrote the product descriptions in the catalog, which was printed in a run of more than 200,000 copies.

In 2016, IKEA printed 200 million copies of its catalog, marking the year with the highest print run in its history. In its final year, however, IKEA printed only 40 million copies. IKEA management stated that the decision was driven by digital disruption, leading the catalog to transition to a digital format.

IKEA has long been synonymous with its catalog. It’s a common sight to see customers strolling through IKEA stores while carrying a catalog. In Indonesia, these catalogs are sold at prices ranging from Rp20,000 to Rp100,000 per copy. Just like a favorite magazine, customers eagerly await each new edition. In fact, it’s not uncommon for them to run out of stock, forcing customers to buy from third parties.

What makes the IKEA catalog so highly anticipated by its fans?

Christine Scoma Whitehawk, Communications Manager for IKEA America, once remarked in an interview with Contently that the appeal of the catalog lies in the content marketing strategy they’ve developed. According to Whitehawk, the content featured in the catalog is a blend of marketing and PR strategies.

“We study how people live their lives in their own homes,” said Whitehawk. “So we start building content from the customer’s perspective, figuring out what matters to them, and then how IKEA can help make them feel comfortable living in their homes every day.”

As part of its strategy, IKEA doesn’t just gather information about customers from surveys or reports. As part of its research, IKEA sends its expert designers directly to customers’ homes to listen to their feedback and translate it into products. This strategy has proven effective in creating IKEA evangelists—die-hard fans. 

Content Marketing and Digital PR

IKEA implements a PR strategy in developing its content marketing, which is then distributed through the power of storytelling. Berenika Teter from Semrush noted that in this digital age, where everything is connected to the internet, creating high-quality content that stands out among thousands of online posts is a challenge. However, with digital PR, that challenge can certainly be overcome.

According to the Public Relations Society of America, PR is about a brand’s activities in creating influence, engagement, and building relationships with key stakeholders through various platforms. In the context of digital PR, digital platforms are used.

Meanwhile, the Content Marketing Institute defines content marketing as brand activities focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain their stakeholders. 

What these two activities have in common is building relationships and maintaining engagement with stakeholders. Therefore, synergizing PR and content marketing strategies can help optimize the goals you aim to achieve. Digital PR and content marketing are both new terms that have emerged alongside the rapid development of the digital world. 

How do they work in practice? Digital PR is the process of understanding audience behavior as they interact in the digital world. For example, by identifying what people are talking about through trending topics on social media or tracking trends via Google Trends, and then selecting the most relevant topics for the brand’s current campaign.

This insight is then translated into data to support the content marketing efforts being developed. As a result, the content created can address stakeholders’ current needs—exactly what IKEA does.

Wiko Rahardjo