It’s time to increase your PR budgets or get left behind!
The trend to move dollars away from public relations efforts to fund “emerging communication channels (which really meant this elusive, emerging thing called social media for business) started around 2017. In many cases, this money was being redirected to marketing teams (remember when marketing, PR & advertising were separate groups within organizations?) with the belief that marketing can meet company goals better than public relations.
“I can’t stress enough that the time is NOW to revamp your marketing strategy and redirect your funds and focus to lead with public relations. If you don’t, you’ll be left behind in the endless downward spiral of time and money spent on content creation that no one will see.” Laura Metro, Chief Strategist at the marketing spirit, a firm that specializes in PR lead marketing strategy.
No matter what has changed in the media landscape, the bottom line still stands:
editorial coverage builds trusted relationships between organizations and their key audiences (and reporters, too!)
An Ogilvy Media Influence survey asked over 200 journalists and bloggers what sources they trusted when it came to doing company research. They said that the information they trust the most is written by their colleagues. Even reporters trust reporters more than they trust any other type of content!
Let me put it to you this way: when you are looking into purchasing something, where do you go for advice online? Companies that sell the item? Or do you go to independent resources who do not have a stake in your purchase decision?
Considering that many studies show that editorial coverage is the most trusted content consumers refer to when making business and personal decisions, why wouldn’t you direct at least 50% of all your marketing time and attention toward getting into these articles?
The bottom line:
The role of editorial coverage is much more important than any other marketing content an organization can create. Stay with me; I’m gonna tell you why next.
Does content type really influence purchase consideration, affinity, and familiarity? Undeniably yes! Expert content moves people into the marketing funnel the furthest.
Why? Trust.
Consumers are smart. They have learned the general tricks of the trade, and 60% of them are far less likely to trust brand-created content due to perceived biases vs. editorial coverage, which was seen as content written by impartial writers.
If editorial coverage generates higher trust, stronger brand recognition, and product alignment, why would you continue to reject public relations for marketing?
In many cases, it comes down to marketers having to price their worth in the boardroom. The impact of one’s marketing programs can be measured from start to finish. The impact of editorial coverage is harder to track. Although technology exists to almost be able to read minds to see exactly how much a piece of editorial content swayed a potential customer, it’s very expensive and not an option for most small businesses.
Just in case you’re not already a believer, here are a few ways you can showcase the ROI you’ll generate from your PR lead strategy.
Easy Ways to Showcase & Increase the ROI From Your Public Relations Led Marketing Strategy
1.- Promote the editorial coverage you secure:
If editorial coverage is the most trusted content you can generate, sharing it on your company socials especially LinkedIn, in your blog, on your website, your newsletter and don’t forget to share it with your employees too!
2.- Create a news amplification template:
This template that includes a specific checklist including things like:
– scheduled social shares (15 times or more per coverage piece)
– employee advocacy (write social support messages and share these with your coworkers)
– coverage seeding, and more.
3.- BONUS TIP:
The more visible your coverage pieces, the faster you will move audiences in and through your funnel. As an added bonus, by driving traffic to media sites, you are helping the reporter meet their number one metric – story views.
4.- Claim your work:
Include URL builders and/or UTM links in your news releases and news conversations. These snippets of code will allow you to track the impact of the traffic generated from these pieces. Keep in mind this will only provide you a snapshot of all inbound traffic you initiated. Still, it is enough to show if you are bringing new prospects to the table, moving people through your marketing funnel, or if your piece connects directly with a desired action or sale.
5.- Ask for the link:
Ask reporters to include a link (that contains a code snippet) to your website in their coverage. In the past, some media outlets resisted doing this as they viewed it as a form of free advertising, but it has become less so. This allows you to connect the inbound traffic directly to the publication, providing insights into whether you are pitching the right outlets to achieve your company goals.
6.- Go local!
Use the news release data provided to identify the geo-resonance of your news and support the markets with high conversation rates via additional pitching, targeted sales efforts, and online/social localized advertising.
With editorial coverage continuing to maintain its high position within the sales and marketing funnel, the winners will refocus their strategy and budget toward PR. The losers will stay the same and wonder what happens when their competitors are exponentially highly regarded and successful. What’s even worse is knowing that your product is far better than theirs, and they just beat you at the visibility game! Don’t let that happen to you.
Laura Metro, the marketing spirit
SOURCES: Editorial Coverage Drives Trust . . . It’s Time to Increase Your PR Budgets By Serena Ehrlich | 9, August 2017