PR (or “earned media”) is the most powerful form of content marketing, because of its potential market reach, online visibility, and inherent 3rd party endorsement.
Unfortunately, most B2B firms fail to achieve a return on their PR investment, for 3 reasons:
🏴 Most B2B firms are focused on the quantity, rather than the quality, of their media placements. As the chart below reflects, “Revenue Impact” ranks as only the 6th (out of 10) most important success metric. It should be the most important metric.
🏴 Most B2B firms are seeking the WRONG kind of earned media. For example: one-off quotes in news stories, pay-to-play articles in any type of publication, and pickup from most press releases are worthless. The most valuable type of earned media is bylined articles in respected business and industry trade publications that showcase your firm’s intellectual capital.
🏴 Most B2B firms don’t understand that the strategic purpose of earned media is to generate a “credibility tool” that should be used to engage with target audiences and shorten the sales cycle. Most firms simply post media placements on their social media and website like a hunting trophy…which has little practical value.
If your firm would like to learn how to improve the return on its PR investment, let us know how we can help.
Marketing Craftsmanship 