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journalists

November 2, 2022 By ZB Group

Why Media Coverage Will Benefit Your Brand: A Look at Various Types

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

As you plan for 2023, working with journalists and content creators should be a priority and here’s why. Cultivating and leveraging these relationships will help your brand or company to connect, engage, inform, influence and communicate with your intended audience in credible and relatable ways.

Pre-internet before Google or social media, journalists were a primary resource for keeping the public abreast of news and information. Newspapers, magazines, TV and radio were the main conduits of mass communication. However, since the internet was created in the early 1980s a whole new dimension subsequently changed the way news and content is produced, consumed and shared.

Today, in addition to mainstream national and local media outlets, a plethora of content creators and new kinds of media companies have taken off. The widespread creation and use of digital tools, smartphone apps and social media, contributed to this sea change.

Now consumers discover new things, make recommendations to friends and family, are entertained or hear about the latest trends in a variety of ways. And brands have multiple options beyond traditional advertising for sharing their messages. For example, Katie Couric, the former TODAY co-anchor and former CBS News anchor, founded Katie Couric Media in 2017 to collaborate with brands “to create purpose-driven content.”

Here’s how working with journalists, content creators and subsets of each, will benefit your brand.

JOURNALISTS

According to the American Press Institute, “The journalist places the public good above all else and uses certain methods – the foundation of which is a discipline of verification – to gather and assess what he or she finds.” Journalists may be employed by one news organization full-time, freelance independently, appear on-air or contribute to several different outlets.

Editors pursue a story idea based on the value they believe it will bring to their audience. Many receive hundreds of pitches a day because a mention, interview or story in noteworthy media outlets, conveys inherent credibility and authority for the subjects that are cited. Writers, producers, editors, and reporters are not compensated by the brands or companies they cover. This type of media coverage is known as Earned Media as depicted in the PESO model. 

According to the Pew Research Center’s Social Media and News Fact Sheet, today, half of U.S. adults get news at least sometimes from social media. Reporters often share their work on social media to gain new subscribers as the WSJ is doing on YouTube and with newsletters. Some journalists also host podcasts and report for other media networks to reach new audiences. Their stories are findable online so an article or video segment spotlighting your brand can have long-term marketing benefits.

Lifestyle Experts and E-Commerce Sites

You may have noticed product review and recommendation sites affiliated with major media companies. Inclusion in these, offers opportunities for brand exposure and sales. The media company earns a commission when a consumer clicks or make a purchase through an affiliate link. The products are chosen based on research, reporting and what they think their viewers and readers would find useful and will like.

New York Magazine’s Strategist is one, The New York Times’ Wirecutter and The Wall Street Journal’s Buy Side are two others. On the broadcast side, NBC’s TODAY Steals & Deals with lifestyle contributor Jill Martin and GMA’s Deals & Steals with Tory Johnson, are popular consumer-focused segments that are integrated with e-commerce sites.

CONTENT CREATORS

Content creators write or produce media content on various topics in the form of a blog, video, infographic, website copy, or something else. Bloggers and social media influencers are often referred to as content creators. They are sought out by brands due to their large followings on social media and high levels of engagement. Here’s a brief look at them.

Bloggers

Blogs offer varied opportunities for featured coverage. From food and beverage, travel and beauty, to tech and business, they run the gamut in subject matter and target audience. Bloggers set their own rules regarding brand collaborations. For some, blogging is a full-time business but for others it may be part of their work in addition to hosting a TV show, podcast, teaching or writing books.

Bloggers may write a feature, host a giveaway, interview a founder, write a review, or offer gift guide opportunities. They will generally use a product or service before recommending it to their readers. If they receive free products, services or a fee, it will be clearly stated as such on their blog. They are also active on social media sharing their blog posts, which provides additional exposure for brands.

Brands

A brand may maintain a blog on their company website creating an Owned Media channel with relevant advice, news, tips, current research, surveys, guides, etc. This represents another type of content creation that serves as a resource for consumers and the media.

Social Media Influencers

Social media influencers may engage in paid collaborations that include sponsored posts, how-to videos or posting photos with or using a brand. Caitlin Covington is an influencer who in this New York Times profile says she was paid $10,000 to $15,000 for two different sponsored posts. Well-known celebrities can command even higher fees for endorsements on their social media channels if they enter into brand partnerships. Known as influencer marketing, these activities are also referred to as Paid Media.

To reach younger people, TikTok stars were invited to the White House in September and other influencers with a combined following of more than 67 million visited in October before the midterm elections.

There are all kinds of influencers to potentially partner with based upon their personas and audience demographics. Carefully consider if they align with your products, services, budget and marketing goals before collaborating.

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Today’s expansive media landscape offers many opportunities to share your messages and garner impactful visibility, authority, credibility, and engagement with your target audience. We can help you determine and implement a results-oriented marketing communications strategy that is right for you.

Filed Under: General Articles, Journalism, Marketing, Media, Public Relations Tagged With: American Press Institute, bloggers, brand story, content creators, influencers, journalists, media coverage, media relations, PESO Model, Pew Research Center, social media, TikTok

February 6, 2019 By Debbie Bayes

Insight into Influencers

Depicts how social media influencers grow their communities of followers with comments, likes and shares.

Pre-Internet the sources we often turned to before making a purchase included recommendations from family, friends and neighbors, books and magazine articles, and experts we trusted.

As you know, times have changed.

We may still check with those sources but also frequently do our own online research. Googling a product or service for more information, reading reviews and asking friends on social media are now commonplace.

That’s where influencers come in. Who are they and why should you care?  

Influencers are trusted like a best friend who tips you off about a hot new restaurant, the latest method for maintaining healthy hair or a charming country inn for a weekend getaway. They offer another means to build authentic features and stories about your product, service, destination or experience to help you reach new customers and drive awareness online.

Megainfluencers such as celebrities and well-known media personalities have followings in the millions, microinfluencers’ followings typically fall between 10,000 and 100,000 and nanoinfluencers’ are in the low thousands.

Micro and nanoinfluencers make up for their smaller audience size with high levels of follower engagement as demonstrated by the number of likes, comments, shares, views and clicks their posts receive.

Some influencers require payment to partner with brands and others do not. Whether influencers are paid, receive free products or agree on another type of mutual arrangement, it must be clearly disclosed according to Federal Trade Commission guidelines.

There are various ways influencers work with brands. Here are examples:

  • product demonstrations on YouTube
  • posts on blogs and websites about firsthand experiences
  • Instagram posts with images, reviews, or short videos
  • documenting trips and visits via video, images and blog posts
  • hosting giveaways
  • featuring products in holiday and other popular annual gift guides
  • Q & As with founders or other spokespeople
  • developing a series of interesting blog posts
  • Twitter parties
  • Facebook live videos
  • online radio shows and podcast interviews

Whatever it may be, the influencers’ content is carefully developed and presented for its appeal so audiences stay engaged with them over time.

Influencers may specialize in one category or work across a few. Some have expertise with beauty and fashion, green and eco-conscious products, travel, baby boomers or millennials, food and recipes, parenting, home décor, men’s lifestyles and other topics.

Journalists are becoming influencers too as many cultivate their personal brands through podcasts, e-newsletters, books, and social media.

It’s important to identify, vet and choose influencers whose audiences align with your target customer’s profile and whose personas are a good fit.

Since we have a long track record of connecting clients with journalists to secure earned media coverage, working with influencers is a natural extension of the services we provide. The influencers we work with generally are not paid fees and are within the microinfluencer realm. Results of working with influencers on behalf of a skin care client are here.

Are you interested in finding out more about the benefits of connecting with the right influencers? Get in touch with us and we’d be happy to talk.

Filed Under: Consumers, General Articles, Journalism, Marketing, Media, Public Relations Tagged With: earned media, influencers, journalists, microinfluencers, The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Profile

May 24, 2017 By Debbie Bayes

How to Influence Consumers and Customers with PR and Storytelling

Public Relations and StorytellingPeople love stories. Even before we learn to read as young children, cuddling next to a parent, grandparent, sibling or caregiver to listen to a story or book is a favorite pastime enjoyed by every generation.

This love of stories doesn’t subside when we grow up.

In the digital age of Facebook Stories, Instagram Stories, Snapchat Stories, podcasting and TED Talks, the methods of telling and sharing stories may have changed, but our affinity for stories hasn’t lessened one bit.

So what’s the point for brands and companies? We’re glad you asked.

Sharing news about a person’s life, loves, challenges or career is interesting for others as it relates to their own life or circumstances. The same goes for brands and companies.

Storytelling is an effective way for you to reach the people who matter most. Brands and companies that share compelling insight can use storytelling to humanize them — gaining loyalty and positive perceptions in consumers’ minds by doing so.

A recent Wall Street Journal article by Barbara Haslip discussed how an entrepreneur’s story can be the perfect marketing tool. It cites research that suggests why humans respond well to character-based stories and memorable images, explaining the relevance for businesses. Read the interesting piece here.

Public relations professionals inherently use different tools and strategies to help clients tell their stories to the right audiences. By doing so, connections are made and buying decisions are positively influenced.

Companies should also leverage consumer input in brand storytelling. An article in MIT Sloan Management Review, says new research finds that sharing consumers’ positive stories about a brand can be a highly effective online marketing strategy.

Here are five ways we work with clients to share their stories:

Media Relations: We package and pitch your messages then reach out to the appropriate journalists to arrange media coverage for your brand, business or organization. These placements provide third-party endorsement via earned media which builds credibility, thought-leadership, visibility and SEO.

Content Creation: Produce and place bylined articles, press releases, blog posts or custom video designed for company blogs and websites, industry-specific or local and major media.

Strategic Partnerships: Arrange partnerships perhaps by creating community special events presented by companies and nonprofit organizations. This is an effective way to engage audiences, build brand equity, secure media coverage and provide an interesting story for the parties involved to tell across all of their platforms.

Live and Online Events: Identify speaking opportunities for company leadership or spokespeople at live or online events so sought-after audiences (either the press, consumers, businesspeople or partners) hear about the latest news, products or brand story first-hand and why it matters for them.

Blogger Engagement and Influencers: Reach out to mega or micro bloggers or social media influencers in your space who drive conversations among their devoted fans and followers. Some may be interested in exclusive content, brand partnerships or sponsored opportunities for their blogs, websites and social media channels encouraging readers to take action – i.e. buy the product, try the service, enter the contest or share the content.

When planning your marketing strategy, don’t overlook the power of stories to help business growth and let us know if we can help.

Filed Under: Consumers, General Articles, Marketing, Media, Nonprofits, Public Relations Tagged With: brand marketing, digital storytelling, earned media, influencers, journalists, Marketing, MIT Sloan Management Review, PR, Public Relations, Storytelling, Wall Street Journal

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