If you’ve decided to take on the job of generating your own PR, hopefully you’ve had some successes. Chantal Cooke, author of “PR Demystified; how to get free publicity by giving journalists what they really need” says, “Getting coverage is always a great achievement. But not everyone maximises the benefits of their hard work. There are five easy ways to leverage your coverage.”
One. If you have a website, add links to the articles you’ve been featured in. This could be on an Updates/News page or section, and/or on your Blog page. Once you have a large number of links, you could create a dedicated Press/Coverage page.
Two. Make sure you include mentions of your coverage on your social media platforms. Be sure to include the Twitter handle of the media outlet you were featured in; this lets them know you’re cross-promoting them, which could help you when you next pitch a press release to them. Remember that Social Media loves images.
Chantal says, “Learning to use image editing software is a great investment of your time. Taking scans of hard copy coverage and screengrabs of online coverage gives you a visual record of your coverage that you can use on your Press/Coverage page, or (suitably cropped) to add images to the likes of Facebook and Instagram.”
Three. Mention the coverage you’ve achieved when you’re at networking events. This will increase your kudos and credibility among your peers. The more they think of you, the more likely they are to recommend you, pass on a good lead, or even use your services themselves.
Four. If you send out regular newsletters, be sure to tell your subscribers about the coverage you’ve received. If you’re worried about sounding too braggy, wrap the information in anticipation or gratitude. For example, if you’ve been booked for a radio interview, say that you’re looking forward to talking about [subject] with [presenter name] on [radio station]. If you’ve already done the interview, say thank you to [presenter name] at [radio station] for asking some great questions during your interview on [subject].
Chantal adds: “If you’re booked for a radio interview, ask if the station posts recordings of its interviews on its website. If they do, be sure to include a link to the audio on your newsletters.”
Five. When you achieve a piece of coverage, include a link in your email signature for a few days. Every time you send an email, you’ll be promoting your PR win. Be sure not to leave a link beneath your signature for too long though; only when the article is most current. Achieving regular coverage means your email signature will be updated regularly, which sends a subtle, positive message to everyone you’re in contact with. If you become a regular contributor to a newspaper, magazine, blog or radio station, add that to your email signature too. Something along the lines of regular contributor to leading B2B magazine [publication name], or [subject] expert for [radio station].
Chantal says, “This is one of my favourite tips. Just think about how many emails you send every week. If you don’t use an email signature, you should set up one immediately.”
Follow these simple tips and you’ll reap even more benefit from your PR efforts; you’ll have people talking about the fact people are talking about you.
Chantal is one of our leading PR and Media Skills Trainers and if you would like to receive some tailored in-company training at your business then register your interest through our course page here.