The Public Relations Blog

Our recommendations to make paid media your last resort

Companies sometimes get caught in a cycle of utilizing paid opportunities because they don’t fully understand what public relations is and how to use the power of PR to earn media coverage. Some outlets will even tell companies that if they advertise, the outlet will write more about the company. This isn’t right. In fact, your company should make paid media its last resort.

And what you should ask your PR firm before finalizing your PR plan

If you’re new to using public relations to build your brand, then starting a PR program can seem daunting. Luckily, it’s easier with the help of a trusted PR firm and a PR plan. A PR plan should be the road map that your PR firm (and your team) uses to create a successful PR program. If your firm doesn’t utilize a PR plan, it’s difficult to evaluate its success and to know that your company and your PR partner are on the same page. Don’t blindly follow your PR firm. Educate yourself on the elements of a PR plan and know the questions that you should be asking to create a successful PR program.

Owned media describes channels you control. It’s the content you create for your website and blog as well as e-books, white papers, presentations, etc. You fully control the content and its distribution. (If you can add, edit, or delete the content, you probably own it.)

Shared media is social media. It’s evolving and continues to build beyond just marketing or the customer service teams using it. Organizations have begun to use it as their main source of communications internally and externally. Shared media includes publishing to social sites, like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, etc.

The term earned media describes news content featuring or sourcing your brand, products, or services. It is not paid media or advertising.

Earned media coverage comes from media relations and media outreach also known as media pitching. When successful, it leads to a news outlet including your company, product, service, expert, opinion, or ideas in a news story (print, radio, TV, web, podcast, etc.). This includes newspapers or industry trade publications (blogs, magazines, or websites) featuring, quoting, or mentioning your organization or experts. It’s appearing on a TV morning show or the evening news. It’s what most people think of when they think of PR. Some might call it “publicity.”

Traditional public relations isn’t working anymore. Fewer Americans rely on TV news, while nearly half of all U.S. adults get their news from Facebook, according to surveys conducted by Pew Research Center. PR professionals must adapt to the ever-changing social and digital age. Here’s the opportunity most PR pros and their PR agencies are missing: the social media news desk.

Why customer reviews on social media are more important than ever

Today, almost everyone has a Facebook account. For companies, this means huge opportunities to connect with audiences, promote products and services, and gain reviews. Facebook’s review system has become a respected source for online reviews over the years. We’ve recently learned that Facebook may have a new rating system in the works that could change the way it calculates review scores. Here’s what we know.

3 tools we recommend to create the content you’ll use to pitch

Most news outlets have a social media or digital desk, and they’re always looking for great content to publish. Turn a news release into a short video or infographic – or grab the reporter’s attention with a corresponding GIF. News outlets are more likely to publish high-quality content on their social media platforms, and the results are often even greater than TV or newspaper (earned media) coverage. Think about it: Social media coverage has the potential of reaching thousands and even millions of people. Your local TV station’s 6 p.m. segment might not.

Use these steps to evaluate how well your social media strategy is working

A social media audit is an evaluation of what’s working and what’s not working with your social media strategy and what you can improve. Additionally, it takes inventory of all your accounts, messages, and materials and their reach. It functions within a communications audit to measure the success of the messages your company sends out.

This is one story on the value of blogging. Read how 5 reasons blogging is important, why you should care about blogging, 4 ways blogging can improve your PR efforts, why blogging is worth it, and how blogging can attract customers for more.

Why your company needs content every week

It’s a well-known fact that blogging is the key to a successful content marketing strategy. Blogging has become a great way for companies to improve their search engine optimization, get their message out, and establish themselves as an authority in their industry.