Six Steps to Leverage Your Media Presence – For Your Own Good

“Fine. You got me an article in Forbes. But how many CLIENTS did you actually bring me?” When I first heard this question from a client, I thought I should go get an ear check. But no, I was hearing right. The outcome of dutiful media relations was, in my client’s view, directly connected with the real impact of PR work on his bottom line. Was the client entitled to his expectations? Let’s take a look at truths and myths about the omnipotence of media relations and their direct impact on a company business.

It used to work differently. Before the Internet, the only channel you had to communicate with a mass audience was through the media. You could BUY content – advertising – or you could GAIN content through genuine, skillfully told human stories – media relations.

What happened afterwards?

The upsurge of the Internet has had basically two major consequences:

1. It allows people and companies to reach out to massive audiences through their own communication channels (YouTube videos, blog posts) by leapfrogging traditional media structures.
2. Second, it categorically marked the end of the traditional media’s financial model as we know it. With people and companies less willing to put money into traditional advertising and more inclined to move budgets into creating communication channels of their own, media lost its aura of unique reputation builder.

Thus, for many, it may not seem obvious today why they should still put money into media relations. When I can get my story out on my blog, why should I bother to understand the needs and adjust to the crazy deadlines of some junior reporter who will anyway write about my company superficially in a piece of story everyone will forget the second they read, you may ask?

Media still matter. For the smart. 

Let’s put it this way. It’s like when you get ready for a date. All you know about the person you’ll meet is what you read on her website or social media. No one else endorsed that information: you only know about your future date what she wants you to know. On the other hand, a good friend of yours comes and tells you a few stories about the person you’re about to meet. She’s resilient, she went through a lot and she’s still a smiling, considerate person. She used to do this and that in the past and this is how she dealt with challenges. Overall, it’s really someone you should meet.

Now take a moment to look at the two options. Which one would you trust more? Someone boasting a big ego in front of you, or someone whose deeds are endorsed by someone you trust?

That’s precisely the role of the media today. They are still absolutely essential key players in reputation management. They might not be the only channel you need to use to reach out to your audiences, but they are still quite vital in your effort to become a visible, trustworthy brand. That is – if you know how to do it.

The biggest issue companies face today – and a guaranteed recipe for disappointment – is that they invest efforts into getting articles in the media then they do nothing about them. They let the articles hang out there in the anonymous digital space until they are archived by the media in which they were issued and no one can access them anymore.

Wasted time and efforts? Very much so.

What should savvy companies do to leverage the impact of their media relations?

Here are a few options:

1. Publish the article on your website. Reach out to the publishing house to check their rules for content syndication. If you can, run a piece of the article on your own web pages. Don’t forget to mention the author of the article and the original medium where the story was published, for example by adding a link to it on your website.
2. Share the article via your social media communication channels. You can of course share the link to the medium that published the story in the first place. Yet, if you want to boost your own website’s visibility in your community, you might want to consider sharing the link that you generated on your own website.
3. Share the article on your LinkedIn profile and on LinkedIn groups. From the same social media range, don’t forget to cultivate your LinkedIn corporate page and encourage your people (employees, business partners) to like and share the article among their fellow-thinking communities as well. Also, don’t forget to share the article on LinkedIn groups focused on the topic of your article. It will only boost your image and reputation of thought leader in your industry.
4. Share the article with your audience via newsletters and emailing. Don’t wait for a duck to fall from the sky only because you shoot high. Take the link to the article and send it directly to those you are trying to influence and call to action.
5. Comment on the article forum. Most media today have forums that allow the public to share their opinion about published pieces of content. Don’t hesitate to join the conversation and debate with people around their topics of interest. Who knows – you might even get inspiration for your next article.
6. Create a business development kit including your media presence. You are about to join a key tender for your business. Feel free to add a kit including some of your most prestigious articles that carry your know-how and show that your know-how and reputation is not only genuine, but validated by the key media on your market.

Will all these steps solve the matter noted at the beginning, that is will it bring you genuine business? It may – or it may not.

It is vitally important to make the difference between strategic communications, business development and sales. Make sure your company has these processes rightly and flexibly set up and that you have the right people in key positions doing their job well.

Above all, make sure that you, as a manager / entrepreneur, place strategic communications at the core of your decision-making process. It is only then that your army of support people: business development, sales, marketing and PR can genuinely help you to boost the bottom line. Otherwise you might end up barking at the wrong tree.