Katie Robertson – Public Relations Account Executive
Whoever said “no news is good news” clearly did not work in public relations. While making headlines for a scandal or crisis is not recommended for obvious reasons, avoiding the spotlight altogether is not an effective strategy either. Many brands operate under the assumption that PR is reserved for big moments and content normally found in the headlines is the only content worth reporting. However, most media outlets cover more than a front page amount of news at a time, giving brands numerous opportunities to publish content and garner positive attention.
Mentionable Moments
The story of a brand goes deeper than its loudest moments, and customers should have the chance to experience that through well-rounded PR content. There are plenty of topics and events worthy of press attention, and most brands have more than they think. Some examples include…
New hires and promotions
Significant sales
Awards
Individual employee accomplishments
Trade show attendance
Partnership with industry organizations and non-profits
And more
Not only can these events lead to press releases or media advisories to generate attention, but they can also inspire editorials. Maybe a new hire has a particular area of expertise that could be written into an article, or receiving an award gives the company a new level of authority on a topic. No matter what is happening within a brand, chances are it can be leveraged for PR coverage in multiple ways.
Broadcast Benefits
Sharing good news about a company comes with a number of benefits. The first and most important is the additional exposure customers have to the brand. Familiarity with a brand is a major factor that contributes to purchasing decisions. Every time the brand can get in front of its customers’ eyes, the likelihood of a purchase increases.
The quality of those impressions is equally important in informing purchasing decisions. While the media outlet publishing the content ultimately has the final say, most will only make small tweaks to the provided copy to make it fit their publication’s standards. This allows the company to almost entirely control the narrative and present the facts in the best way. As the coverage from earned media is free, blatantly promotional copy, like the wording used in advertising, will generally not get printed. However, the right PR professional can still create a positive message without the sales pitch to influence perspective and behavior.
In addition to building positive impressions with the brand’s customer base, persistent, reliable PR content can help boost media relations. Many publications, especially in B2B, are short-staffed and rely on PR professionals from the industry to fill each issue. Sharing news and industry insights gives them more options with little to no effort needed on their part. Editors remember brands that help them and will often come back to them with additional PR and advertising opportunities. Supporting the earned media efforts with paid content goes even further, as budgets are generally tight in trade publications, and every dollar in ad spend is deeply appreciated.
Send It to Print
When employees are immersed in their day-to-day business, they tend to have a hard time seeing how many stories could be relevant and exciting to a target audience. However, that does not mean they are not worth sharing.
Untapped PR potential is one of the quickest ways companies can boost their marketing efforts. Consistently finding the content hidden in plain sight and leveraging stories in multiple ways is cost-efficient, quick to turn around and an impactful way to generate quality leads.