As traditional newsrooms continue to shrink, PR pros need to consider the best approach to expand media placements. But, how do you determine the most valuable and realistic placement for your brand or organization? That’s the question PRNEWS sought to answer during a webinar this week, “Winning Earned Media Through Self-Distribution, Social and Influencers.”
The acceleration of digital-first consumer habits and competition between traditional media, social media and various algorithms have made it more challenging for consumers to see messages through organic social, said Laura Doherty, senior director, global brand communications at Vans, a VF Company.
Doherty, who oversees PR, social and corporate communication, said at her shop several department leads are involved at the start of a campaign, mapping out its lifecycle. From there, the organic social team teases upcoming news, PR maximizes its reach and paid media pulls people through the lifecycle. The teams' end goal is creating a full consumer journey.
With a glut of content across channels, and audiences changing the way they consume it, Emanuele Breccia, VP, FleishmanHillard Los Angeles, takes a platform-agnostic approach to content placement. Called Earned Plus, it moves away from a destination, or proactive, model to a discovery framework, which seeks to engage audiences where they live.
An additional point noted during the session is that not only do PR pros need to reach the usual editor targets, but they also are asked to consider non-traditional possibilities. These include social media editors and podcast editors, for example. In addition, focussing on other niche areas, such as micro communities and newsletters, is recommended.
Haniya Rae, staff journalist, Consumer Reports, advised that PR pros remain open to how they collaborate with publications. Reaching out to reporters or social media editors with a pertinent statistic that can help inform a story angle is a good tactic, she said.
You can assess the full webinar here.