How to leverage the results of a PR campaign

You got a media hit, congratulations! There’s nothing like the thrill of seeing your or your company’s name in the news. But a few days later... nothing seems to have changed. What gives?

How you leverage the results of a PR campaign is as important as the campaign results. Who’s seeing the media hit? Who wrote it? Where is it being shared? Can it be used for further coverage?

Here's how to integrate your news coverage from a successful PR campaign into your inbound marketing channels.

Share your hits on social media. Be your own champion

Newspapers can publish hundreds of stories a day, so there’s no guarantee how long your article will be on the front page. If you want the right people to see your story, you have to let people know about it.

This is where your marketing team comes in. Share every media hit, every interview, every mention of the company or staff across every channel -- even employees’ accounts if they’re keen. If the objective is to establish credibility, the means is widespread awareness.

We worked with a SaaS company that got a media hit in a major tech outlet. The CEO was excited about the hit, but was disappointed they didn’t use some of the technical points he brought up in the interview.

We explained that journalists are writing for a more general audience, but that he could add those comments to a LinkedIn post when he shares the article. When he did that, he got tens of thousands of impressions and hundreds of comments. If he never shared the hit, he would have missed out on all of that extra engagement.

Sales prospects often encounter your brand seven times before they reach out. Posting your wins on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, your newsletter, and your website increases the speed at which customers encounter your brand.

Splash your media hits across your website

Your website is the first place your customers go for information about your company.

It’s pretty customary now to have an ‘As seen on’ or ‘Featured on’ banner on a homepage, with logos of media outlets. We recommend a minimum of 3 logos to start, but of course, the more the better. Continue to update these as your PR team secures you more media coverage.

Our cybersecurity client told us that they were on a sales call, and the prospect said “I’ve looked at a hundred options for our cybersecurity needs, but when I saw you were featured in Forbes, I instantly knew you were the real deal.” If they never added the Forbes banner to their site, the prospect might have booked a call with a competitor.

Take this a step further by creating a Press or Media page and linking to each of these wins.

Or why stop at just a link when you can create even more content off of this? Which leads up to...

Leverage your media hits in blog posts

Businesses that maintain a blog have 55% more website visitors than those who don’t, and blogs result in 434% more indexed pages for your website. It’s an essential part of your marketing mix. 

And blog posts aren’t just for your new groundbreaking thoughts, or company announcements. We like to capitalize on our own wins by doing win blogs. 

Choose your favourite excerpts of the media hit, or create a blog post that covers related information that adds to the conversation your hit started. This works to direct more traffic to the media hit, as well as demonstrating the knowledge you have that may not have been included.

Don’t forget the value of internal linking here. Linking from one blog post to another, or to the media hit itself, all adds up to the SEO gods.

Whether you’ve got a list of 20 or 2,000 subscribers, share the good news

A frustrating scenario we’ve seen several times is when companies don’t make the most of the marketing work they’ve already done. There’s no point in having a list of subscribers if they never hear about your success.

Email subscribers are there to hear about your news, your thoughts, and whether or not they know it, your success. Every month, make it a point to include your media hits in your newsletter.

This can take the form of a list of links, or a link to your website’s Press page if you’re feeling more subtle. Alternatively, use your latest media hits as inspiration to write a newsletter introduction, and link to the hit within that.  

Ready to start earning media hits that can help grow your business? Contact Mind Meld PR today.