Many companies make the mistake of sitting back and waiting for sales and opportunities to come in as a result of the media mentions they get. This is both a mistake and a missed opportunity.
The reason that your media mentions are better than advertising, content you create, or social shares, is that being written about in the media gives you free visibility and instant expert positioning as well as the impression that you are being endorsed by the media. Since people trust the media, for the most part, this provides third-party credibility.
Getting featured in the media is a positive nod to your brand. Media mentions are also the best type of content possible. They are sometimes referred to as earned media. This is because your brand has done something the media deems worthy of writing about. This could be can be anything from successful projects, a unique perspective, the way you are transforming an industry or sector, your methodology….
Let’s face it – no one cares what you say about your brand – but they do listen to what someone else says about it.
Here is why not promoting the media mentions you get is a mistake and missed opportunity:
The mistake – assuming your media mention gets seen by your ideal audience and as much of that audience as possible
It is a noisy world. We are all bombarded with messages in our inbox, online, at the supermarket checkout line.
Imagine for a moment that your company gets featured in the print edition of the New York Times. Congratulations – you just got in front of over 400,000 new people. Of course, not all of them will be your ideal prospect, but there will be a segment that is.
Consider for a moment the following:
only a portion of the 400,000 will read the article
Some of your existing customers, partners or prospects in your pipeline may not see the article or read it
The missed opportunity – not leveraging and amplifying your earned media. Now that you have third party credibility from a recognized media outlet, this may be the best brand asset you have – today and years down the road. It’s news worth sharing widely and often. This includes all of your stakeholders – from your employees, partners, vendors, customers to prospects.
Related: Why Your Business Needs Earned Media and 5 Easy Ways to Get It