Maximize the Business Impact of Your Media Coverage

Getting media coverage is one thing. Getting messages in front of audiences who wield influence over business agendas is quite another.

That’s why I’m careful to remind the clients I work with that the value of media coverage begins—not ends—when media cover their product, service, company, organization, or issue.

Your company’s audiences view publications and broadcasts as credible entities providing objective reporting. By association, your product, service, company, organization or issue receives an implied endorsement from this objective third party known as the media.

But securing media coverage doesn’t guarantee that the audiences you care about most will see that coverage—or take the actions you want them to take.

To fully leverage the business impact of your media coverage, consider the following actions:

• Purchase article reprints and send to influential audiences, such as clients, prospects and recruits.
• Link online articles to your website to maximize search engine rankings. Post articles, video and audio clips on your website.
• Send one paragraph e-news updates describing media coverage to influential audiences. Post a link to the full article to drive website traffic.
• Pitch a similar story to non-competing media in different markets and trade media covering different vertical markets.
• Pull quotes out of media coverage to use as "call outs" in collateral materials and advertising. Attribute the quote to the media outlet.
• Extend media coverage by exploring a topic further in a whitepaper, speech, blog entry, e-news commentary or news media op-ed.
• Add media participation to executive biographical information to enhance their credibility as a leader.

By doing so, you'll extend the value of public relations efforts in a way that makes it easier to link dollars spent in public relations to dollars generated for your company.