Getting the Most Out of Your Media Coverage

So you scored a really important piece of media coverage that includes all of your key messages and reaches the right audience. Congratulations! Now what?

For many companies, that may be the end. This is great coverage and a lot of people will see it. Maybe the coverage itself will help move the needle on your key organizational goals. But if we stop there, you may be missing opportunities to leverage that coverage for even greater impact. How else can you amplify that great media hit? Here are several tips to get the most out of your media coverage.

• Your organization’s owned and shared channels: What communication channels do you have direct control over for sharing messages? Your website, including your online newsroom, as well as your organization’s blog, e-newsletters and social channels are all easy options for sharing media coverage with stakeholders who are familiar with your organization and have an interest in your news. Reporters are usually very happy to see an organization sharing online links to their coverage. They want people to see their coverage too! For broadcast segments or medical trade journals, there may be more nuances around what you can and cannot say publicly about the coverage on social media or with your network before the coverage runs. In these cases, work with the reporter or editor to determine what you can share and when.
• Media outlet owned and shared channels: When working with reporters, ask them to share their coverage on their social media channels! This may seem obvious, but it’s often overlooked. A reporter or media outlet’s social channels can expand the reach of a piece of coverage to new audiences. For example, we recently worked with our client Be The Match, the national organization that matches patients with donors for marrow transplants, on a segment that aired on ABC’s Good Morning America (GMA). Not only did the segment air live in broadcast, but video and images of the segment were shared extensively on the social media accounts for GMA and their co-anchor Robin Roberts. Even if GMA’s social media followers were not watching the live show that day, they still saw the coverage and a link to learn more and get involved with the organization.
• Employees: Employees are deeply invested in the work you are doing day-to-day, because they live it! A great piece of coverage may instill pride in employees’ work and their organization. If empowered to do so, they may also be inspired to share the coverage on their own social media channels and with their family, friends and professional networks.
• Partners: Consider whether this media coverage would make sense to share with partners to strengthen the partnership or expand the reach of your coverage through their networks. Partnerships can be a powerful tool for quickly expanding the number of people you can reach with your messages and should not be overlooked. If you have partnered with any influencers in your industry, share this coverage with them as well.
• Follow-up Coverage: Keep in mind opportunities for follow-up coverage. Was there a significant impact from the media coverage that the reporter or the media outlet’s audience would care about? Did 300 people show up to your blood drive or in-person event? Did a high-profile celebrity read your story about a patient at your hospital and reach out to connect with that patient? Did someone decide to get tested for breast cancer, because of the story? If yes, share those results with the reporter and consider submitting a letter to the editor to share the news with readers. For example, following the GMA segment that I referenced earlier, we shared with producers that thousands of people signed up as potential marrow donors following the segment. The next morning, GMA aired a follow-up to the story to not only update viewers on the number of people who signed up, but also to encourage viewers to keep signing up! This follow-up coverage continued the momentum and impact of the story – and inspired even more people to join the registry as potential marrow donors.
• Trade Shows and Sales Opportunities: Media coverage adds third-party credibility to your messages and can act as a compelling tool for validating your sales team’s conversations with potential customers or stakeholders, including physicians. In the health industry, a strong byline in a well-respected medical journal carries a lot of weight. Share this kind of coverage with your sales and medical outreach teams, and order reprints to bring with you to trade shows for easy reference.
• Native Advertising: Services like Outbrain and Taboola can extend the reach of your media coverage to new audiences by serving up links to your content (media coverage or even your organization’s blog posts) as related content on other news sites.

At the end of the day, there are many ways that you can amplify your media coverage. When determining how to make the most of your media coverage, first consider your audience and who would care about this news. Then, consider all aspects of the PESO model (paid, earned, shared and owned communications channels) available to you for sharing this news with your key audiences.

Want more ideas for taking your media relations efforts to the next level? Email me at [email protected] to start the conversation!