6 tips to convert earned media into results for your business
Maximizing the impact of public relations coverage involves going beyond securing an earned media feature; it's about leveraging that PR exposure to drive tangible results for your business. Whether you're interviewed for a magazine or newspaper article, featured on a podcast or radio station or highlighted in a TV segment, there are strategic steps you can take to convert that media attention in ways that ladder up to your business’ key performance indicators (KPIs).
Here are six actionable steps we take to capitalize on our clients’ earned media coverage for broader business success:
6 tips to convert earned media into results for your business:
Provide media with all important information. It sounds obvious, but media opportunities can be last-minute & quick-turn. Sometimes details get lost in the shuffle. Ensure your media contact has your full name, title, business name, website and social media links, so features of your business will include information about how people can find you.
Be ready with a clear call-to-action (CTA). What do you want people to do with the thought leadership, insights and information you've shared in your interview? Do you want them to subscribe to your e-newsletter, register for your event, sign up for a free consultation or simply visit your website? Get clear on this ahead-of-time & make sure not to leave it out during the interview.
Ask media to include hyperlinks when possible. If you're submitting written answers to an interview, proactively add hyperlinks to your responses. If your TV or radio broadcast segment will be shared online, provide your media contact with a short, hyperlinked description to be included underneath the interview. Sometimes media will be able to include these links, and sometimes they won’t. It never hurts to be proactive and ask.
On-point CTA destination. Prepare and test your CTA destination ahead-of-time to ensure that it contains messaging & branding consistent with your interview, that the link actually works & that the journey to complete whatever behavior you're asking people to take is as straightforward as possible.
Share the coverage. Earned media coverage is a free source of content. At the very least, coverage should be shared with your audience via social media & email, so they can pass it around to their audience. Take it a step further & use podcast soundbites as an Instagram Reel audio or turn statistics used in an interview into an infographic for your blog.
Use coverage to garner more coverage. It’s unlikely that a single piece of media coverage will make you go viral. When pitching a new media contact, share previous coverage links to add credibility to your story. (Note: there are specific circumstances where media won't cover a story that their direct competitor has already covered, but more often than not, past coverage will legitimize the story for other outlets.)
PR is about building brand awareness & managing your business reputation over a longer period of time, but these simple actions can increase the efficacy of each earned media placement & get you closer to achieving your business goals.
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