- Parent Category: Corporate
This week, let’s look at the next step. At some point this challenging situation we are all going through together will be over, but any media coverage you gain during this period can still be valuable to you weeks, months and even years into the future.
That’s true, though, only if you take steps to leverage that coverage. One of my biggest frustrations in PR is when we work to get great media placements for a client, but the client doesn’t do anything with those placements. They do a wonderful job during the interview we landed for them. But then they fail to follow through on the most critical part – they don’t continue to build their brand by making sure the world knows that the media turned to them as a go-to expert in their field.
So, don’t let your successes languish. Here are a few ways you can get the most out of your media coverage – and keep it working for you long after the interviews are over:
Create a prominent space on your website for media appearances. Your website is valuable real estate, so you always should share links to your media successes there. Put those links in a prominent location, too. Don’t bury the information at the bottom of the page or behind a random tab where visitors won’t see it unless they accidentally stumble across it. Create a media tab that’s visible at the top of your home page. Just recently we arranged for one of our clients to be interviewed on Fox News TV. A national television appearance like that is a big deal – and a big boost for his authority as an expert in his field. Yet, when I went to his website, I could find no mention of the interview!
Make use of media logos. Incorporate logos of media outlets that interviewed you into all your sales and marketing materials and add words like “as featured in” or “as seen on.” Your credibility and the trust in you get a big boost when someone sees those logos and realizes you appeared on CNBC, were quoted in the Wall Street Journal, or were interviewed on a national talk radio show.
Tell your clients and prospective clients. Yes, it’s good to be modest and humble, but in this case you need to learn to toot your own horn. When you’re quoted in a newspaper article or interviewed on radio, or TV, let your clients and prospective clients know about it. Send out an email or mention it in a newsletter Your clients will be excited to learn you have been quoted in, for example, the New York Times because it validates their decision to hire you! With prospects, it can turn the tide in getting them to sign on with you.
Share your publicity on social media. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media sites are great platforms for letting the world know about your media appearances. For example, if you’re scheduled to be interviewed on a national radio show later this week, you can create a post mentioning you are looking forward to the interview and urging your followers to tune in. Afterward, you can post an MP3 so people can hear the interview. Similarly, post links to newspaper and magazine articles that quote you.
Finally, remember that the real value in PR is not the few responses you might get from people who happen to tune in when your radio or TV interview is broadcast, or who read that magazine or newspaper when it’s first published.
Instead, the true ROI comes from all the ways you remarket those interviews over time across everything you do. The impact of each media appearance can be multiplied many times over, reaching vast numbers beyond the original audience that saw or heard your message.
Stay healthy!