Media visibility usually doesn't happen by chance – or if it does, it's about an unwanted topic. Positive visibility that supports a company's brand requires planning and consistent action. In this blog, we'll go through step by step how to achieve media visibility. We'll also give you tips on how we at Promoted would do it.
Visibility builds a competitive advantage when you “own your topic,” meaning you are the expert that journalists regularly call or email. They ask you what’s new in this topic right now or what’s happening next.
1. Starting point: What do we want to achieve?
Every successful PR project needs a clear direction. What kind of message do we want to convey? Where could our company or organization's experts help journalists and their audiences?
The most important question is: What topic do you want to “own”?
You should choose this topic so that appearing on it strengthens your position and expertise in relation to your competitors. Marketing and sales are easier when you are already known as an expert in your own field.
The first thing a customer will do is turn to the real estate consultant they heard on Yle talking about the options for implementing the energy renovation needed for their property. Or they will hire the expert whose speeches published in Kauppalehti about the possibilities of artificial intelligence exude the most realism to develop their business.
Once this number one topic has been chosen, it is worth making it the cornerstone of your entire PR effort. It is not just one campaign, but a long-term investment that supports the company's expertise and increases visibility.
2. PR Year Clock: Continuity guarantees results
One of the biggest challenges of media work is randomness – a single newspaper story can bring momentary attention, but without planning, the impact will be short-lived. The number one topic needs to be raised repeatedly, but to gain wide visibility, other content usually needs to be published and distributed.
So it's worth building a PR calendar that schedules all content projects and activities for the entire year.
With the help of the annual clock, we ensure that
- PR work has a clear structure and schedule
- The pursuit of media visibility is ongoing.
- Everyone involved in PR work can monitor the progress of projects and their impacts.
3. PR projects: The right message to the right people
Once the annual clock has been built, it is time to implement the PR projects scheduled for it. Most often, the success is due to:
- Ideation and sparring – the expert has a message that interests a sufficiently large audience.
- Choosing the right target media – you need to know which topics resonate in different media and how to present them.
- Personal pitching – a press release is usually not enough. It is worth talking directly with a specific journalist.
We know journalists and want to serve them by tailoring our topics to be truly suitable for a specific media. There is always a journalistic basis for the publication, making it easy to grasp.
4. Content and social media: PR supports marketing and sales
PR work is not just about influencing through the media. Well-planned visibility also supports the company's own sales and marketing. When your name and expertise have been in the media, it can be assumed that a potential customer will look for more information on your website or social media channels. In that case, it is good if there is in-depth content on the same topic available.
We ensure that articles, blogs, and social media posts exist and build the same expert image that you convey in the media.
5. Finally: What did we achieve and what did we learn?
Good PR is not based on emotion, but on measurable results. That's why it's important to examine:
- How many media hits did we achieve?
- What was the value of media exposure?
- How did PR projects affect sales and website traffic?
- What did we learn, i.e. how can the next PR project be even more successful?
We believe that transparent reporting helps us understand and communicate the value of PR and develop our strategy moving forward. PR results can be incorporated into other reporting.
PR is continuous work – and its effects are long-lasting
One-off media exposure may bring momentary benefits, but long-term PR work builds a competitive advantage. When PR is based on strategy, a yearly calendar and quality content, a company doesn't just gain visibility – it claims its place in the market and continuously gets new customers into its sales pipeline.
Ville and Jari
