"How much can I pay to get some media coverage?"
That's the kind of question an experienced PR pro fields from time to time, and any PR person worth their salt will give the same answer:
Zero dollars.
That's because public relations - or earned media, if you prefer - is the art of securing 3rd party media coverage by crafting a pitch worthy of column inches or air time, and then pitching it (sometimes over and over and over and... over) to a reporter at your target media outlet.
Any media coverage that a 3rd party outlet guarantees through a flat fee is pay-to-play. Most PR pros think pay-to-play is icky, partly because we may question the outlet's objectivity or credibility as a true source of impartial journalism. Other times, we know that many readers and viewers are savvy enough to discern between pay-to-pay coverage and stories covered by legitimate media outlets.
Viewers aren't stupid. Readers aren't stupid. And most of the time, companies and organizations have business objectives that are best served by credible 3rd party reporting in trusted media outlets.
And that coverage? Well, yes. You typically have to invest capital and/or effort to garner it.
Public relations is more than shipping over a pic and a few paragraphs about your new widget or great thing your company has underway. It involves reviewing corporate business objectives and announcing new news or developing strategic storylines to support those business objectives. Sometimes this story development requires a level of brainstorming that involves your C suite, business development leads, and marketing and communications leads.
And then the pitching begins. And sometimes the pitching timeline can last a while. Because the art of PR involves establishing, growing, and maintaining relationships with media contacts. Sometimes you can hit the lottery and send a pitch to a reporter and garner the desired coverage. But most of the time you have to pitch, and pitch, and pitch to earn the placement.
Hence why it's called earned media. Sound like a lot of work? It sure is!
Some companies and organizations choose to stay focused on the business they know, and partner with an outside PR expert to garner their desired coverage. That kind of partnership isn't inexpensive. But the results are worth many, many more dollars when you compare the column inches or air time to a media outlet's paid media rate card AKA their advertising fees.
Paid media is not earned media. But it's a good benchmark to measure the value of the earned media you garner. And earned media is the kind of coverage your target audience pays attention to in spades.
No turning the pages to find the news. No tuning out the commercials to fold laundry or run to the bathroom.
Your target audience wants good content! So give it to 'em. And watch your brand awareness grow.
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