What is the true value of PR coverage? This is an ongoing conversation in the marketing industry and one that agencies have attempted to nail down for years. Is it measured using ad value, impressions, unique visitors to the site each month (UVM)? At Darby, we see value in all of these and have worked diligently to come up with a proprietary value that shows our clients the true ROI of public relations.
To highlight the value of public relations, we’ve showcased a variety of editorial coverage we secured for our clients, from print to digital to YouTube, and the success from it.
The value of print earned media
Print earned media presents a unique value for a brand. While its ROI is difficult to measure directly, there are avenues that can be used to contextualize the value of a given piece of print coverage.
People don’t just buy products; they invest in brands.
A quality piece of print earned media can improve the perception of a brand, enhance its reputation, and heighten brand awareness to a targeted audience. In order to increase the value of that reputable print editorial coverage, a brand should consider using it to promote their products or services.
At Darby, we help our brands capitalize on reputable print earned media, incorporating it across their owned and paid media channels. Last fall, our client Appalachian Gear Company received the Editor’s Choice award from Backpacker Magazine for its All-Paca Fleece Hoodie. We worked with Appalachian Gear Company to build a campaign to amplify this award across their digital channels. This resulted in a significant increase in web traffic and eCommerce activity.
You can see the full case study HERE for the breakdown of how we used the value of reputable print earned media to generate trackable bottom-line impact.
The impact of digital earned media
Strategic digital earned media can complement a brand’s on-going digital marketing efforts and positively impact website traffic and sales numbers. In fact, the impact of a good digital editorial feature can be seen for years down the road — we’ve seen roundups referring traffic to clients’ sites as much as 6 years later! Great digital coverage can provide quality backlinks to internal pages on a brand’s website and increase the following:
- Search Engine Visibility for your products
- Referral traffic
- Remarketing pool for social media advertising
- Lead generation opportunities for email marketing
- eCommerce success
Reputable websites, top ten product roundups, and gift guides can all play a major role in digital success for a brand.
Were you featured in a stellar gear review on Outside Online that links directly to your website? Great! Not only will you receive referral traffic from Outside Online, your site also receives a quality backlink, which helps elevate your website in search algorithms!
Was your new widget featured in “Top 10 Best Widgets” on Underscored? Does that PR hit show up on the first page of Google when people search for “best widgets”? Great! PR has made it easier for people to find your product (and website) when they Google “best widgets”. See how well that works?!
For example, our client manufactures the #1 performance running sock at specialty retail. If you go to Google and type in Best Running Socks, their brand comes up in three of the four top roundups on the page, including the number one search position. Just by being in these top-ranked roundups, it allows their brand to be seen by those actively shopping for running socks, and if linked to their site, can directly send traffic and sales to their site.
Why YouTubers can move the needle for a brand
YouTube is the second largest search engine on the internet, processing 3 billion searches a month. If a brand can’t be found on YouTube, it may be missing a huge segment of potential customers. YouTube is a great resource for consumers to learn about new products before making a purchase, and an important platform for content creators.
YouTube creators work hard to increase their channel following and deliver high quality content to their subscribers. In fact, YouTube’s algorithm rewards quality content with high engagement. Thus, YouTubers are incentivized to build trust with their subscribers, more so than Facebook or Instagram. So, generally, when YouTube creators talk about a product, their subscribers listen and value their input.
YouTube earned media coverage is great for capturing potential customers, generating new digital content to share across owned channels, and increasing valuable consumer touchpoints.
For example, Darby Comm works with YouTubers regularly to generate positive earned media coverage for our clients. For a new product launch for one of our clients, we worked with YouTuber and founder of a Performance Fishing Shirts company, Joshua Taylor, who has over 89,000 subscribers that depend on him for quality reviews and informative content. He produced an extensive review on his channel, which has received over 23,000 views to date and generated a lively discussion on the benefits of the kayak we sent to him. In fact, when you search for the kayak by name on YouTube, Joshua’s video is at the top of the list!
Public relations and earned media can be a game changer
A well-executed public relations strategy has the ability to have a positive impact on your brand’s bottom line. With the right public relations agency, you will work with a team of experts who will not only maximize your earned media across multiple channels, but will also show you the ROI of your and their efforts. At Darby, we take an omnichannel approach to public relations and digital marketing. If you are ready to elevate your brand’s presence and get more customers into the sales funnel, please visit our Services page to learn more, or email us HERE.