If you have a new business or brand that currently has minimal visibility or credibility, one of the best ways to get in front of the right audience and establish trustworthiness is through third-party endorsements. Specifically, endorsements via the media, small and top-tier media outlets, can increase your brand’s reach and help get people positively talking about your product, service or message.
When you read about a new brand, business or public figure in the media, a variety of proactive actions are generally taken by a savvy public relations agency or PR consultant in order to achieve that press. A proactive PR strategy that focuses on achieving positive earned media is the smartest way to achieve earned media.
With an interesting and concise story angle, pitched to the right journalist, at the right time, with the proper marketing/PR collateral, aimed at a target audience, you too can achieve positive earned media for your brand or business.
There are a variety of mediums to consider when promoting your product or service, brand story, and brand values to target audiences. Research shows us that earned media is 80% more effective at persuading and affecting consumers compared to traditional marketing or advertising.
While advertising is a medium that offers more control over messaging, it is often more expensive and less credible. Earned media is essentially the ultimate stamp of approval via bloggers, journalists and social media influencers and generally offers much more credibility. Furthermore, these third-parties have niche audiences that you can better target and tap into with a proactive and strategic PR plan.
If you have not considered leveraging earned media relations for your brand or business, let’s take a look at what an earned media plan includes:
- Recommendations for measuring both quantitative and qualitative results in traditional media
- Social media
- Diverse media matrix featuring various types of media that are relevant to your brand including digital, print and online magazine, national press, local geographical media, national newspapers, digital bloggers, social media influencers and broadcast TV media.
- A thorough media matrix also includes “news beats” that can b pitched to each specific media verticle including business, tech startup, retail/e-commerce, lifestyle, as well as a number of story angles that are most relevant and timely for your specific brand.
- One-to-one media outreach conducted by a PR firm whom have long-standing relationships with a variety of media and bloggers.
Your ultimate goal should first be to capture your audience’s attention. Then, once you have their attention, educate them on your brand, your company’s values, and the problem your service or product can solve for them. Ideally, PR firms like Savory PR can help a client do this by telling intriguing and emotionally invoking stories via the media. Telling these interesting stories that tie back to your brand and overall business goals via credible third-party outlets will differentiate your business from the competition.
Here are some key benefits of an earned media plan:
- Build a brand’s credibility and reputation through third-party endorsement(s)
- Provide several interesting and newsworthy story angles and media headlines that will keep your brand relevant and top-of-mind with your target audience.
- Create interest and engagement on social media that can escalate a brand’s popularity, increase your following and ultimately build your reputation and bottom line.
- Reach niche target audiences that can’t always be reached through mass advertising– niche bloggers, social media influencers and YouTube bloggers are a great third-party to target for this.
If your brand or business is planning an upcoming product launch and looking for a way to establish credibility and get your story and/or product in front of people, earned media via strategic public relations is a great tactic that should be considered as a part of your overall communications and marketing mix. If you’d like to work with Savory PR to garner positive earned media, let’s set up a complimentary consultation and see how we can elevate your brand or business to the next level. Savory PR is a PR agency based in Miami with a presence in New York City, working with clients across the world. Email us today at Samantha@Savory-PR.com.
