From PR to PO: 5 benefits of PR beyond "brand awareness"
“What will be my ROI?” is one of the most frequent questions I am asked during a potential client call, particularly when the person on the other end of the Zoom call works in marketing or sales. It’s a valid and essential question to have. If you’re investing in something as finicky as media, how do you know if it’s going to be worth it? The short answer is, you don’t know. Nothing in earned media relations especially is a guarantee. You can’t guarantee an editor is going to love your product, and you can’t guarantee they’ll write about it if they do. That’s why at FACTEUR PR we stress the importance of investing in PR as a marathon, not a sprint. In order to truly build your brand’s reputation, you need time to build trust as much as you need to build buzz. But what happens after you’ve landed some of that coveted ink? We’ve talked about how to maximize your press coverage in order to garner more impressions on your accolade, but beyond just reach, impressions, and brand awareness, there are a host of other doors that can open for you – you just have to knock.
So, how can PR benefit your business besides just building brand awareness (which is important, but not the only value)? Read on for five examples.
Good PR is nearly necessary if you want your products picked up by wholesalers and retailers.
Visibility as a product-based brand is so vital, but in order to gain visibility you need to earn credibility. According to the Indie Beauty Media Group, press coverage – along with validated third-party reviews – of your products is essential when you are pitching a major retailer. Places like Ulta, Sephora, and more want to not only know your product is attractive but effective, they want to know that others feel the same. Journalists especially are a key way of communicating that since their endorsement is completely earned – not paid for. We can speak from experience at FACTEUR PR – our clients’ press coverage has helped turned PR into a PO, helping them secure retail commitments from places like Whole Foods, Nordstrom, CVS, and Anthropologie. AND YES, our team can even help you secure these crucial meetings with retailers.
PR helps gain attention from influencers and celebrities.
And vice versa. The best communications plans are the ones that integrate multiple mediums, such as earned media, influencer relations, celebrity seeding, events, and more. By gaining momentum in one segment, we can leverage it in another. The goal is to have visibility snowball and amass in more coverage and conversation. Here are six more tips for maximizing your press coverage.
Endorsements are crucial when it comes to your competition.
Whether you’re a product or service based business, endorsements, reviews, testimonials, and so forth are high-value when it comes to a consumer, partner, or buyer differentiating what you have to offer vs. your competition. We see this play out often in the real world. Imaging you’re shopping around for an interior designer in your community. You’ve identified two you really like in your budget – but only one has had their work featured in Architectural Digest. Not surprisingly, the one that has received such a noteworthy third-party endorsement is likely to be a key contender. Earned endorsements are huge for building your reputation and trust with your audience.
Digital media hits benefit your brand’s search engine rankings.
One of the best things about earned media compared to other types of media, especially advertising, as that your press coverage online lasts forever. Not only can you share that you were featured in x publication from here on out, but if that media hit links back to your website, you’ll be able to reap the reward of new visitors from that media hit for a long time to come.
PR can also help you land that coveted blue checkmark.
Want to get verified on social media? Get press coverage. As part of the application process for verification, Facebook and Instagram deliberately seek out third party endorsements, including press coverage, as a way to determine credibility before awarding verification. The more visibility your brand has, the better your chances of securing it (even if you don’t yet have half-a-million followers)!