Has the Media Lost Trust and How Does That Impact Your Marketing Strategy?
With so many assertions against “fake news” and “fake media,” studies show that people’s belief in what they read in the news is down 32%. So, what does that mean for your marketing strategy going forward?
Another important statistic has shown that 75% of people trust a recommendation they get from a social media site (even from a complete stranger) as compared to the material a company publishes.
This being the case, it is important to re-consider the press release in order for it to have maximum impact. This will mean a lot of facts and holding the hype.
At present, trust lies with academics, analysts, journalists, and other experts, so getting earned media for your company can help put you front and center in your industry. The trouble is how to get it.
And do you give up on paid and owned media? No. Rather, you try to get them to work together like the three legs of a stool.
Let’s define these quickly:
Paid
Ads of various types. They tend to be ignored online, or even blocked by filters. Ad formats include pay per click, display ads, social media ads and customer re-targeting campaigns.
Owned
The information you as a company release. It can be websites, blogs, emails, press releases, brochures, social media posts, and so on.
Earned media
The publicity you get externally, such as from newspapers, magazines, social media shares, and so on.
Most marketers have focused on paid media and try to influence opinion through owned media. Focusing on earned media requires a different set of skills, but it can help you gain a considerable amount of traffic.
It will mean changing strategies, however. Here are some ways to handle it.
Being consistent
All efforts to gain earned media need to be consistent. Social media shares require businesses to create great shareable content regularly. Press releases should be issued on a regular basis. One per month should keep your business in the public eye consistently through media pickups. They can also be shared on social media. Crafting them so they are shareable, with images, video, interesting free information and more can all help you gain media attention and shares.
Offering free information via your email marketing list can also help you grow your list of potential customers.
An integrated approach
As you can see from the above, press releases, social media posts and email marketing should all be integrated. Having a central place for all data for each of your products or events you will be hosting will make it easier to produce owned media and gain earned media.
Give your target audience what they really want
In terms of press releases, journalists want interesting information that they can offer to their audience. If your information matches their audience’s needs, then you will gain media pickups.
Monitor all results and do more of what works best
Monitoring your earned media will help you see what works best so you can do more of the same. Press release distribution services offer good reporting to help keep track of all your pickups. Set Google alerts as well as mentions of your company and products so you can keep track of all your earned media.
Call us today to speak to one of our PR specialists: 1-800-713-7278
