Facilitating quality PR coverage takes time, energy, and lots of work. However, when a fantastic piece of coverage comes through, it all becomes worth it. But why stop there, reveling in all its glory and basking in the big win? Maximize PR coverage by putting it to good use!
In this blog, we’ll outline our favorite tactics to maximize PR coverage once it’s been secured.
Table of Contents
- Earned, Owned, & Paid Media Alignment
- Showcasing PR Coverage on Your Website
- Featuring PR Wins on Social Platforms
- Including Great PR Coverage in Newsletters
- Amplifying Your PR Wins on Paid Channels
Maximize PR In Your Owned and Paid Marketing Strategies
Let’s face it, marketing bandwidth is often in short supply. From managing organic social calendars to drafting new automated email sequences, there’s constant work to be done. That’s why it makes sense to put your PR wins to work.
Maximize your marketing efforts by ensuring that earned (PR), owned, and paid media channels work together. Cross-channel collaboration starts by aligning campaign messaging, timelines, and goals, ensuring silos or barriers between your channels are non-existent. Investing time organizing strategy on the front end of the campaign will pay dividends on the backend.
PR comes in many forms, and the benefits it provides may include:
- Brand Awareness: Great exposure to new potential customers
- 3rd-Party Validation: Brand/product/service validation from a respected source
- Authority: Increased brand authority within your industry
- Digital: SEO benefits, website traffic, increased ‘searchable’ presence
- Bottom Line: Can lead customers down the sales funnel
Once your PR team has generated an exciting PR win, determine the primary benefit(s) it provides your brand.
- Is it a full product review from a reputable editorial outlet in your niche? The 3rd-party validation and authority it garners will help your product stand out in a crowded field, increasing trust amongst new and potential customers.
- Did your new product gain a direct-link inclusion in a gear round-up from a major editorial player in your field? The quality backlink and website traffic provide tangible SEO and digital benefits.
Leveraging Your PR Wins on Owned Channels
Quality PR coverage can increase reach, generate referral traffic, expand your brand’s digital footprint, and accelerate eCommerce activity. Those effects may last a week, a month, or well into the next quarter, but over time the initial benefits will wane. It’s tempting to pat yourself on the back and move on, but not so fast.
You can and should amplify the resulting benefits of your earned media using a key marketing avenue: your owned channels. Let’s walk through the various owned channels available to maximize PR wins.
Website/Press Page
When Appalachian Gear Company first brought the All-Paca Fleece Hoodie to the performance apparel market, they were a relatively unknown brand introducing a new performance fabric. Potential customers had every right to be skeptical – an obscure brand introducing a whole new natural product category? Sounds too good to be true.
So, when Backpacker Magazine awarded the All-Paca Fleece Hoodie its prestigious Editors’ Choice Award, it was A BIG DEAL. Backpacker is one of the most respected authorities in the backpacking, hiking, and thru-hiking communities. Its editorial team has tested thousands of pieces of gear, built authority within its niche, and earned trust from its readers over time. When Backpacker speaks, people listen.
This award was game-changing for the AGC team. They licensed the logo for the All-Paca Fleece Hoodie product page and showcased a flattering quote from the review. What happened after that? Instantly the website bounce rate decreased, time spent on page skyrocketed, and the eCommerce conversion rate increased. Why? Because the award brought a level of trust and authority to the brand that new customers needed when considering whether or not to purchase this innovative new product.
Consider pulling positive quotes from journalists and hosting them on your website to maximize PR coverage. This goes a long way in helping build trust with new customers. There are a few ways this can be done, depending on your desired outcome, website aesthetic, and ease of navigation. A few of our favorites include:
Organic Social
Keeping up with your organic social content needs can be tricky. Consider featuring PR wins on your owned social channels to assist in feeding the content pipeline.
Instagram Stories
A product image and quote from a recent piece of coverage make for some compelling IG story content. It can attract new social followers, increase engagement, generate social referral traffic, and extend a public “thank you” to the media outlet for featuring your brand (an essential step in the PR process).
Poppy Handcrafted Popcorn does a great job incorporating big PR wins into their IG stories. If it’s good enough for Hoda, it’s good enough for everyone!
Instagram Reels & TikTok
Previously on our blog, we’ve discussed the proliferation of videos in social feeds. Video content on these platforms is imperative, and PR wins can easily be used to generate consistent content for Reels & TikTok. Depending on your volume of coverage, a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly round-up of PR wins using trending audio, high-quality product imagery, and publication logos is a great way to extend the reach of your wins with a broader audience.
@darbycomm Extra, Extra 📰 Read all about it! Check out a few of our favorite client feautures from June 👆#DarbyWay #fyp #publicrelationstiktok ♬ original sound – Crumbl Cookies
LinkedIn is an often-overlooked resource for brands. It’s a phenomenal platform to connect with industry peers, potential investors, and influential media. In fact, LinkedIn is an ideal platform for posting your earned media wins.
Consider linking to the coverage, pulling a valuable quote, and giving a shout-out to the author. This will help boost your reputation amongst industry peers while building credibility amongst your consumer base.
Newsletter
Your newsletter is a key strategic communication and eCommerce avenue. But, sometimes coming up with entertaining and informative copy can be a chore. We’ve all had moments of writer’s block, and in those trying times, you can turn to earned media for help! Sit back, put up your feet, and let earned coverage relieve your content worries.
Standard-Cadence Newsletter Content Block
Are you sending out a regular email to your general subscriber list? Consistency in design, tone, and layout is key. Consider building a dedicated content spot in your email marketing template that showcases recent PR coverage. Pull a quote detailing key differentiators of your product, service, or brand and pair it with a high-quality product or lifestyle image. Underneath it, add a call-to-action button that takes customers to the product page, and watch your engagement spike!
Product-Specific Email
Product-specific emails can often prove challenging to find the right balance between content-rich copy and sales-specific call-to-actions. Use earned media to help give your bottom line a boost. If you’re focusing on a recently launched product, 3rd-party validation from a respected outlet goes a long way in producing buy-in from new consumers.
Amplifying Your PR Wins on Paid Channels
Does your performance marketing strategy include top-funnel campaigns focused on educating new audience segments? Do these audience segments have activity-specific use cases? Have you generated positive coverage with editorial leaders in these activity niches? You guessed it…your ad copy should include earned media quotes for A/B testing ad engagement purposes.
Take this opportunity to analyze which key brand differentiators resonate with new audience segments. In your down-funnel retargeting and conversion-based ads, use product-specific differentiator quotes to make your ads stand out.
In conclusion, generating impactful PR coverage is exciting, but don’t stop there. Integrate this coverage into your owned and paid content pipeline to amplify its effectiveness. To learn more about how Darby Communications can secure and maximize PR coverage for your brand, reach out to us or learn more about our services.