You have a great third party endorsement whether it be a positive review or great press coverage. But one earned media placement only goes as far as the immediate audience and it may not be the right audience.
Here are a few tips to make the most of your earned media.
1. Keep Track of It
You may find a number earned media placements are not the result of your direct PR efforts, in which case are you certain you’re aware each time your brand is mentioned in the press? Set up a mechanism for routinely gathering this information (daily, if possible). Google Alerts is a simple solution.
2. Amplify It
Think of content marketing like oral storytelling; once the story’s been told, it can be passed on to other audiences in ways organic and paid. Let your goals dictate which channels you pursue each piece of earned media. For example, if your goal is to drive conversions, that means attracting the most qualified audience. Outbrain’s advertising solution to increase the circulation of your story is placing it in front of engaged audiences on some of the most high-traffic areas of the web – premium publisher sites. Driving traffic to your earned media has a number of other benefits beyond sheer reach. The more people engage with it, the longer the shelf-life of your content.
3. Repurpose It
One of the undervalued aspects of earned media is that the parties producing it have different perspectives and ideas about your brand, product, the market etc. For this reason, earned media can be a springboard for owned media. If a piece of earned media highlights a problem, misconception, or even a positive asset related to your business that you had never considered before, use it as an opportunity to generate your own content addressing those issues or demonstrating those assets.
4. Further Media Relations
One of the most important audiences to reach, regardless of your consumer base, is other media outlets. Compelling earned media can open up further organic media relations, improve your media pitches and lead to more overall placements. See how Fleishmann Hillard did this – all the more reason to amplify it and increase its overall visibility. If your press contacts have been reading about your brand recently or have just seen your name pop up in a couple of key places, they might be more receptive to your pitches or otherwise including your brand in their editorial.