July 18, 2017
…and no one is around to hear… you know the rest. It’s a philosophical question for the ages. I have a similar query for my marketing and PR colleagues. If you create a great piece of content, but no one sees it, does it even matter? We’ve all been told that content is king, and if that is in fact true, then distribution is surely queen. A king without subjects (like content without an audience) wouldn’t be much of a king at all.
Most of the healthcare companies we work with are pretty good about leveraging their distribution channels for their own created content (a white paper, a case study, etc.). They share that sleek new infographic on social media, post it on their website, email it to clients, print it out to bring to sales meetings and trade shows, etc. But, what often surprises us is how that same company doesn’t follow a similar plan for their earned media hits (i.e. an article about them in a trade publication). While a bylined article appearing in Becker’s Hospital Review is, in itself, a great win, once that article appears, there is still work to be done:
- Get it out on social media: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are all appropriate channels to share earned media. Additionally, use Twitter to reach out and thank the editor for working with you on the piece. Check if the publication tweets your article on its feed and be sure to retweet.
- Share with clients and prospects: Include a link to the article in your weekly customer newsletter or in your next email campaign. Also, be sure to link to it on your website (ideally on your news page). As a note, be sure to first check the publication’s copyright policy as some won’t allow you to link or post a PDF on your site without paying a copyright fee.
- Purchase reprints: It’s always nice to have access to some glossy hard copies of the article to bring to tradeshows or to use as leave-behinds for sales meetings.
- Repurpose the content: Obviously, you wouldn’t take the same article and try to get it placed in another publication, but are there elements of the piece that could be spun or expanded upon to create another piece for another outlet? What about for your own company blog? Also, try pitching the core concept as an interview opportunity at a staff-written publication.
How do you maximize the impact of your company’s PR coverage? Do you have a unique idea for leveraging or distributing content? We want to hear! Tweet us at @ariamarketing.
