Why Earned Media is Important

Introduction

Earned media coverage can be a powerful tool to an integrated marketing communications program. Unlike advertising, earned media often carries more weight and credibility in the minds of the consumers because it is delivered and received through the recognized filter of a credible third-party organization/person such as a newspaper reporter or columnist, TV or radio anchor or reporter.

Adopting a proactive approach to earned media allows you to build and enhance the profile and messages of your organization. But earned media is not free media. It requires significant work to generate and sustain steady coverage and to build on the momentum of past successes.

Good media management is a critical communications skill. Building strong, trusting relationships with the media; learning to pitch them in ways that in their minds adds value to their readers, viewers or listeners; generating a steady series of significant press releases, announcements and special events to give them something to cover; and putting in the time and effort to follow-up are the keys to good media relations.

Issues

Building Relationships with the Media

Good media contacts and relationships are often the key to good media coverage. Get to know key journalists and make sure they know you. Then use these relationships to help you secure steady coverage for your organization. Recognize that a good relationship should be mutually beneficial. Always try to be helpful to journalists, return all calls or emails promptly, learn and respect their deadlines, and always be honest and forthright with them when you want to be helpful to them, particularly in those times when you must explain why you cannot.

Adding Value to Gain Coverage

News editors and reporters first and foremost are interested in covering stories they believe are interesting and add value to their readers/viewers/listeners. Put yourself in the minds of their audiences; determine why your news is important to their audiences; and pitch your stories to the news editors and reporters with that in mind. This simple approach should help you gain better press coverage.

Creating Opportunities for News Coverage

It seems obvious that if you do not offer reporters something of importance to cover, then you will not gain any coverage, yet many organizations do not build a sustained and steady program of coverage opportunities to advance their cause. Building a sustained series of news releases, news conferences, announcements, events, etc. that feature fresh and interesting news angles is key to generating good earned media coverage.

Doing the Hard Work of Following-Up

Journalists are busy people with many stories to sort through. Do not expect them to pay much attention to your news releases, news conferences, or the Op-Ed you give them for placement, unless you are willing to take the time to work the telephone and email to follow up. Moving your story from the bottom of the stack to the top of their stack is a vital step to generating good press coverage.