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Tag: Media Coverage

  • 6 Ways to Get More Value Out of Your Earned Media Coverage

    6 Ways to Get More Value Out of Your Earned Media Coverage

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Often when I help clients earn media coverage by pitching stories to journalists, they are, of course, initially happy and even excited. To see the fruition of our work come to life in the form of a story in the news IS a thrill.

    But what happens after that? Often, nothing.

    When you’ve put a lot of effort into securing earned media coverage, it feels a little, shall we say, lacking, to share and celebrate only the day you see the piece — then stop there. Press coverage can help your brand gain visibility and increase credibility … but not if no one sees it.

    So, what can you do to get more value from the media placements you’ve worked so hard to earn? Here’s how to leverage your earned media wins and wring all the value you can out of each one:

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    Michelle Garrett

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  • Media Coverage Is Your Most Powerful Sales Tool. Here’s How.

    Media Coverage Is Your Most Powerful Sales Tool. Here’s How.

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    In my years as a publicist, I’ve seen firsthand how earned media coverage can increase brand awareness, web traffic and, ultimately, conversion rates. But this doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Landing sought-after placements is just the first step in a comprehensive campaign to curry excitement.

    Much like the tree that falls in a forest with no one around, you need witnesses to those impressions, which requires a mix of unapologetic self-promotion and clever manipulation of modern communications tools. Failing to maximize those placements’ reach only does a disservice to your business and the effort you put into garnering wider recognition.

    Press coverage grants sales representatives and the brand as a whole credibility they can use at multiple points in the life cycle of a product, reaping maximum profits. Here’s how.

    Related: How to Transform Media Coverage Into Leads and Sales

    Multifaceted sales-funnel impact

    Many veteran sales professionals will tell you that press coverage is most helpful during the exploratory conversation phase of the sales cycle. And it’s true you should encourage reps to share relevant media coverage with prospects during the earliest stages of communications, encouraging them to do more research on the brand and how it’s represented to, and perceived by, the public.

    However, others will assert that it’s a helpful sales-enablement tool at all phases. For instance, using existing press coverage in fresh email-marketing campaigns can help reignite interest in leads that have stagnated. In the same spirit, an article or interview highlighting your business can be re-upped through Facebook ads when customer engagement flags.

    This is a case where there is more than one way to skin a cat. It takes some persistence and endurance, but it’s effectively tantamount to planting a seed, watching as it grows and continuing to add water and sustenance as needed. If approached with that level of diligence, a single slice of positive press can flourish into an asset with perennial returns.

    Discoverability and driving traffic

    Getting coverage in top-tier media outlets is a proven mechanism for increasing web traffic and improving discoverability, whether that be directly from the article where the brand was mentioned or from an enhanced presence in relevant search-engine results. If you have room in your budget to hire a reputable publicity firm with credibility in your niche, it will likely pay dividends that justify the expense.

    When journalists at top-tier publications buzz about a brand, people are more inclined to listen. Web traffic driven by media coverage also demonstrably outperforms overall web traffic. For customers who visit your site directly, make sure to maintain an online newsroom showcasing your press coverage. This is even more important for journalists logging on to your site.

    In general, this kind of virtuous cycle of exposure only happens when a business properly touts positive coverage across its platforms — including social media channels — and drives traffic back to its website as both a source of information and point of sale.

    Related: How to Convert Your PR Wins Into Sales

    Harnessing social media

    In the coming month or two, share each piece of coverage your brand has earned a few times to prolong the win’s shelf life. Tagging the journalist who wrote the article is a good practice that can occasionally result in them re-sharing your post with their audience. This will also allow current customers and potential prospects to see the news in a new place, further legitimizing your business.

    Social media also offers brands the opportunity to take advantage of features like Twitter and Instagram hashtags for engagement and discovery. You can also be creative with short- and long-form storytelling via Instagram and TikTok in particular, including repackaging press hits into catchy affirmations of the waves your brand is making. All this manifests yet another way of putting you in front of potential new customers who may be unaware of your company and its offerings through more direct-to-consumer outreach.

    It’s understandable if you’re reading all this and thinking, “Wait, you’re telling me that not only do I have to launch my brand, monitor its operations, scale it and sleuth out ways to get people talking about it, but then I need to commit fresh energy into publicizing its publicity?” But the truth is that, no matter what market you’re tapping into, that kind of end-to-end consideration is the only way to stand out in an atmosphere flooded with startups and ecommerce hopefuls.

    Moreover, this process evolved directly from the days of pasting together press clippings for a portfolio. If anything, it’s become more self-regenerative and reaps more bang for your buck. So rather than wasting the shelf life of your hard-earned press coverage, strategically share and promote those wins to achieve maximum results, and in doing so, increase its return on your investment — and your bottom line.

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    Kristen Shea

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  • Worried About Raising Capital in a Recession? Give Your Company The Edge.

    Worried About Raising Capital in a Recession? Give Your Company The Edge.

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Entrepreneurs and founders need to generate capital investment to grow and succeed, yet attracting such investment is daunting in this market. Amidst heavy competition and negative market forces, one frequently underutilized resource provides many companies an edge: effective PR or public relations.

    By generating positive media coverage, PR can create interest in a startup and make it more attractive to potential investors. Emphasize the R in PR to build relationships with key influencers and industry experts who can promote a startup to a broader audience. By using PR effectively, startups can overcome the challenge of declining investment and improve their odds in the current market.

    Start using PR as a strategy to attract investment

    One of the most important — and often overlooked — aspects of PR for startups is its role in attracting investment. A well-executed PR strategy can help raise awareness of your company and generate interest among potential investors. Here are some of the most effective ways to use PR to attract investment:

    1. Highlight your company’s unique selling points

    Beyond the problem you are solving and the solutions you offer, you need to promote what makes your company unique. Star by answering these questions: Why should investors put their money into your business? Why are you succeeding when perhaps others are failing? Make sure these points are clear in your PR.

    Any company, large or small, must clearly understand its unique selling points (USPs). These aspects of your business make you stand out from the competition and attract customers and investors. PR is essential for promoting your USPs and ensuring they are communicated effectively to your target audience. Without PR, your USPs may be lost in the marketplace noise, and you could miss out on vital growth opportunities.

    PR can help you clarify your USPs, identify the most effective channels for reaching your target audience, and craft messages that resonate with them. By promoting your unique selling points, PR can help you to win new customers, partners, and investors.

    Related: How PR Can Attract Investors and Add Value to Your Startup

    2. Use social media wisely

    Social media is an excellent way for startups to connect with potential investors and get their companies noticed. However, it’s essential to be strategic in your use of social media, ensuring that the content is received by different audiences continuously. Use social media to share news about your company’s progress, announcements about new products or services, or articles that showcase your company’s thought leadership. By sharing interesting and valuable content, you can attract the attention of potential investors and get your startup noticed. Always mix things up and keep new audiences engaged by consistently sharing various types of content.

    3. Stay focused and consistent

    Throughout this process, it’s crucial to maintain a high level of consistency and relevancy. Keep your communications clear and concise, and stay focused on continuously putting your startup’s message out. This can be a challenge, especially in the early stages when you’re still trying to figure out what your brand is all about. But it’s crucial to maintain a high level of consistency and relevancy. PR is all about building relationships with the media and the public, so they can become familiar with your startup and what it has to offer. If you’re not consistent, you will have difficulty building those relationships.

    Stay consistent, clearly grasp your brand’s story, and consistently push that story out. To start, narrow the focus to existing relationships and lean on your team, existing investors, and others involved in the startup. Go for faster wins, even if it means blogs and freelance writers first. Reinforce your message with social media content. From there, go for media coverage.

    4. Get media coverage

    Good press can be a powerful tool for attracting investment. High-quality media coverage can help to build trust and credibility with potential investors. This goes beyond just a few press releases, as quality media coverage includes getting articles, videos, and other extended content on your business. PR can be time-consuming and costly, but it is often worth the investment. High-quality media coverage can help to build trust and credibility with potential investors, making them more likely to invest in your business.

    High quality does not always mean an article is published in the largest media outlet. For example, a great story or article can run in a local television affiliate and spread from there. Many founders assume that PR means getting the brand’s story published in an internationally known publication. Sometimes the best way to start using PR is to get noticed locally and build a PR campaign.

    Related: Why You Need A PR Agency and How to Choose One Wisely

    5. Find a dedicated expert PR team to ensure your message is heard

    An experienced PR team can be invaluable in helping you to craft a story that will resonate with investors. They can also use their connections to help get your story in front of the right people. But most importantly, a good PR team can provide honest feedback and constructive criticism. They can help you identify potential weaknesses in your investment pitch and suggest ways to address them.

    Not all PR agencies are created equal. When choosing a PR agency to help with your investment round, look for these essential qualities:

    1. When choosing a PR agency, it’s crucial to find one with significant experience working with startups, preferably with a record of success with investment rounds for other startups. You’ll also want to look for an agency that is calm under pressure and able to adapt quickly to changes. And, of course, it’s essential to find an agency with which you can build a good rapport — after all, you’ll be working closely together.
    2. Second, they should deeply understand the investment process and what matters to investors. Ask for case studies of other startups they ran PR for during an investment round. A PR firm with a deep understanding of the investment process can help you craft a winning message highlighting your company’s strengths and ability to return investment quickly.
    3. Third, they should have a creative and unique approach to generating attention for your company. Yes, press releases are essential and often underutilized. However, a resourceful PR team will find ways to get articles published detailing and validating the purpose of your startup, why it matters, and why it is the right investment opportunity.

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    Adam Horlock

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  • Here’s How to Know If Your Startup Is Ready for PR

    Here’s How to Know If Your Startup Is Ready for PR

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    At some point, every startup founder comes to the idea that they may need to integrate PR into the proliferation strategy of their company. Indeed, with the right approach, PR efforts can easily become a powerful tool to accelerate growth. The list of goals that can be achieved through a thought-out public relations campaign includes the following:

    • Attracting investors to improve visibility for securing funding

    • Providing information about a startup’s products or services

    • Building awareness among potential customers and partners

    • Creating a favorable image for a company

    However, all entrepreneurs should keep in mind that PR is not a magic pill. It works best under certain conditions and with a deliberate approach. Before turning to this tool, you need to evaluate its necessity for your company and the preparedness of your business for starting a public relations campaign.

    Related: Is Your Startup Ready For Professional PR?

    How to tell if your startup needs PR

    Before turning to PR, make sure that your company needs it in the first place. Analyze the market and your product, and look at the goals you want to attain. PR will definitely be beneficial for your venture if:

    • Your startup operates within a highly competitive market;

    • Reputation and trust are critical for your business;

    • Your product is complex and expensive, and people can’t experience it before purchasing;

    • You are looking for new partnerships;

    • You are looking for investors;

    • You want to expand your customer base.

    But even if your company meets all the above criteria, you need to think twice to be certain that PR and media relations are the best way to address these challenges for your startup. It often happens that founders expect public relations to be a counterpart of advertising and a solution for direct sales. In reality, the first and main purpose of PR is to gain a reputation. Publicity management impacts sales — but only indirectly and when it works in synergy with marketing.

    Related: What Startups Should Do Differently When It Comes to PR

    How to make sure your startup is ready for PR

    Unfortunately, it’s not a rare situation when startup founders underestimate the efforts required for high-quality publicity management. As a result, they initiate a PR campaign too early and get disappointing results. There’s no sense in rashness. Take time to assess whether your startup is ready to launch a PR campaign. Here’s a checklist for that below:

    • Your product or service is fully developed and works with no mistakes: When you start pitching your company to mass media, it’s important that people can try what you have to offer and give it positive feedback.

    • You can clearly state the goals that you want to achieve with PR: There are different PR tactics and strategies for different aims. Approaches may vary even for different funding stages. Doing PR without precise goals is a waste of time and money and won’t help anyone.

    • You already have a brief clear description of your product or service and can explain how your company differs from competitors: Journalists, potential clients and investors should immediately understand what they are looking at and why it’s unique and worth their attention. Also, don’t forget to translate the description and other texts to languages of all the markets in which you are planning to launch.

    • You’ve articulated your startup’s mission, vision and key messages: Everybody loves a company with a mission and a visionary. It makes a startup more memorable.

    • You’ve found the appropriate tone of voice and brought all the text materials to a consistent format: This includes all the texts that can be found on your website, social media accounts and in newsletters. If a text goes public, it should agree with your communication strategy.

    • The company’s social media accounts and blogs are aligned with the current message and explain who you are and what you do: Journalists, potential customers, existing customers and investors will surely find those and analyze them as any other media publication would.

    • The speakers who represent your company have their social media profiles properly worked through: Today, any given person can research every aspect of your business that they are able to find online. So, use every little chance to make a favorable impression and explain the importance of it to the team.

    • You’ve decided on the positioning of each speaker: When you have a pool of media representatives for your startup (even if it’s only your CEO), it’s necessary to decide what topics they will be covering as experts and clearly communicate them to reporters and editors.

    • The speakers have appropriate photographs shot by a professional photographer and a short bio: These things may be requested by journalists when they prepare publications about your company. It always feels highly satisfactory when the people of your startup are properly introduced in an interview.

    • You are ready to share some exclusive data and analytics: It helps to build credibility, especially in the eyes of journalists who usually have no desire to copy and paste information that has been published already and always strive to impress their audience with something new.

    Related: Is Your Brand Ready for Public Relations and Press?

    Smaller startups may hesitate to hire a public relations agency because most agencies’ retainer fees look overwhelming for such companies. However, it’s hard for founders to control the crucial operations of a venture and simultaneously bootstrap their PR efforts. No effective communication with the media can exist in such circumstances.

    A well-suited option may be to look for a PR agency that focuses exclusively on startups, including early-stage ones. Usually, such agencies are deeply aware of the needs and pains of their clients and offer reasonable contract terms. You need to find a KPI-driven PR firm —because, with them, you’ll have guaranteed results and be able to adjust your KPI requirements to your budget. An early-stage startup can agree to the minimal KPI and increase them later, when they can afford to do so.

    Perhaps the most crucial thing to remember is that PR, being an effective tool, requires time to achieve the needed outcome and brings no instant success. However, with the right approach, it can be powerful and help early-stage startups achieve their key goals.

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    Katerina Antonova

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  • 4 Tips for Responding to an Unexpected Media Inquiry

    4 Tips for Responding to an Unexpected Media Inquiry

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Have you ever gotten an unexpected call from a reporter? What did you do first? If you answered, “panic,” you’re not unlike many clients I’ve encountered. Why is our first response to a media inquiry to panic? And how can we calm down and marshal our resources to answer their questions — without the desire to head for the hills?

    Why do we panic when we have to talk to the media?

    There’s something about an unexpected media request that strikes fear in people. It may be because we’ve all seen those “gotcha” segments on the news — stories in which a company or its spokesperson looks like the bad guy. When a reporter gets in touch unexpectedly, it can make someone feel as though they’re being put on the spot, and they worry they’ll say the wrong thing.
    Even in industries that aren’t fraught with scandals, there are times when ANY business can find itself in the position of responding to a media inquiry they didn’t know was coming their way.

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    Michelle Garrett

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  • Launchmetrics Acquires Its Main Competitor, DMR, Strengthening Its Data and Analytic Capabilities — Becoming the Undisputed Category Leader in Brand Performance

    Launchmetrics Acquires Its Main Competitor, DMR, Strengthening Its Data and Analytic Capabilities — Becoming the Undisputed Category Leader in Brand Performance

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    Together, they offer clients the best of both worlds; the industry-recognized technology behind Launchmetrics’ solutions along with DMR’s 20 years of historical data and reputable white-glove expertise.

    Press Release
    –

    Mar 29, 2022


    NEW CITY, N.Y., March 29, 2022 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Launchmetrics, the leading Brand Performance Cloud for the Fashion, Luxury, Beauty (FLB) industries, announces the acquisition of their largest competitor, DMR. Following the acquisition, Launchmetrics becomes the SaaS provider to over 1,200 FLB brands, offering the most comprehensive brand performance solution. This strategic move marks the company’s fifth acquisition*, projecting Launchmetrics to the undisputed category leader in Brand Performance.  

    For Fashion, Luxury and Beauty industries, the brand is the most important financial asset, with investments upwards of $250B/year on activities directly linked to brand reputation. While there are a multitude of tools that track business and financial performance, Launchmetrics provides the only end-to-end solution to measure brand performance. Their Brand Performance Cloud provides optimization and measurement tools enabling executives to make smarter decisions around their branding efforts. 

    “This is a significant moment for Launchmetrics,” states Michael Jais, CEO of Launchmetrics. “We’ve been working hard to create the industry’s most powerful solution to optimize and measure brand performance – thanks to DMR’s added value, our momentum is propelled, with more than 1,200 clients using our tools today.  I am proud to say that we’re an undisputed player in our category but we’re also one step closer to reaching our greater business objectives: hitting over $100M in ARR by 2025.”

    “At DMR, we care deeply about each and every one of our client’s specificities and as Founder I have also cared for more than 20 years about our employees, whom I consider my family,” states DMR’s President & Founder, Enzo di Sarli. “Launchmetrics has been a longstanding competitor of DMR, the conversation has been a natural evolution over the years and my main goal, thanks to this decision, is to ensure my legacy, over the next years both to DMR clients, whose trust was essential over the years, and to DMR worldwide staff who have always been by my side throughout this exciting journey.”

    Thanks to this acquisition, Launchmetrics grows to over 400 employees, across 10 offices worldwide. DMR clients will continue to benefit from the extensive panel of data and services that they know and love, while gaining access to even more metrics found within the Launchmetrics Brand Performance Cloud solutions, including (but not limited to) social media campaigns in both Western and Eastern territories on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Youtube, WeChat, Douyin (TikTok), Weibo, RED, Bilibili, and others. In return, Launchmetrics clients will see an added value thanks to augmented coverage results, 20 years of historical data as well as access to strengthened customer-centric services.

    Launchmetrics technology monitors data for more than 5,000 lifestyle brands; tracking upwards of 5 million documents per day. Its Brand Performance Cloud encompasses:

    • 600,000 Voices across print, online and social media 
    • 10,000 publications (newspapers, magazines and supplements)
    • and 50,000 online sources

    As well as: 

    • 85% global fashion shows powered by Launchmetrics
    • 4k images and 1k videos shot every season, for more than 40 Fashion Weeks
    • $5B product value managed every season through the Samples tool

    Ongoing, Launchmetrics will provide industry professionals with the tools and data to help executives make smarter decisions around their branding efforts. Enzo di Sarli will stay on as a consultant to ensure a smooth transition for clients, while bringing his respected expertise to the business alongside former DMR CEO Marco Levi. Moving forward, Launchmetrics’ top priority is to ensure DMR customers keep the same level of service while benefiting from the variety of tools found within their Brand Performance Cloud. 

    *Previous, recent acquisitions include PARKLU in 2020, IMAXtree in 2019, Visual Box and Style Coalition in 2017

    Press Contacts:

    Launchmetrics

    Katherine Knight, Communications Director

    Katherine.knight@launchmetrics.com

    About Launchmetrics
    Launchmetrics is the leading Brand Performance Cloud used by Fashion, Luxury and Beauty (FLB) executives to connect with the modern consumer in a constantly changing landscape. With over a decade of industry expertise, Launchmetrics helps more than 1,000 customers create inspiring, impactful and measurable experiences.

    Its Brand Performance Cloud provides companies with the tools and intelligence they need to optimize the use of their creative assets, execute powerful brand amplification programs and measure their brand performance. The company’s AI-driven and proprietary Media Impact ValueTM gives customers the ability to benchmark their performance against 2,000 competitors worldwide. Launchmetrics’ intelligence empowers these companies to grow their businesses and streamline their processes, bringing a sharp focus to profitability, accountability, and efficiency while enabling the type of quick decision-making required for agility.

    Founded in New York and with operating headquarters in Paris, Launchmetrics has employees in ten markets worldwide and offers support in five languages. Launchmetrics has been the trusted brand performance technology to brands worldwide such as Dior, Fendi, Shiseido, and NET-A-PORTER as well as partners like IMG, the Council of Fashion Designers of America, the British Fashion Council, Camera Nazionale Della Moda Italiana and the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode.

    To learn more about Launchmetrics, please visit launchmetrics.com/newsroom and follow @launchmetrics.

    Source: Launchmetrics

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