How to Get Earned Media Coverage

Are your efforts to get earned media coverage bearing no fruit?

Don’t worry. Help is coming!

Earned media (free media) coverage is unpaid publicity your web content receives when other websites -especially high authority websites- share, repost, mention or recommend it.

Having your website links shared over and over doesn’t only get word about your brand or products out there, but also improves your SEO rankings. And when your SEO rankings hit the roof, it means more traffic to your site.

In this article, we’re sharing top strategies you can implement to get earned media coverage.

Create Beautiful Websites and Quality Content

You heard that right; well-designed websites equal beautiful sites to enjoy!

You don’t have to be a designer to know what looks good. You will know it when you see it!

So, how exactly do you make visitors enjoy reading your website?

Try some of these ideas:

1. Keep posts short and sweet: People have perfected the art of skimming through wordy posts. Keep posts on point.
2. Well displayed search toolbar: Some visitors just want specific info and have no time to through hundreds of posts! Let them go straight to what they need.
3. Leave some ’empty’ spaces: White spaces de-clutter your site, this way the reader’s eyes have room to breathe.
4. Visual pecking order: Make a clear distinction of what is what. For example, clearly differentiate main headers, headlines, and sub-headlines.
5. Balance images and text: Don’t use too many of either in one post. Try to strike a balance.

One visitor could enjoy their experience so much and recommend it. That’s earned media coverage at its best.

Build Your SEO Ranking

Did you know there are over 1 billion websites on the web? See how hard it can be for people to find your site?

With that in mind, how do you ensure your site gets ranked highly by search engines?

The answer is SEO.

This is a natural or organic strategy used by website owners to ensure their sites appear among the first-page results.

Here are a few SEO tricks.

1. Keyword optimization: Site traffic starts from word search. Identify the primary and secondary keywords for your content,  and use them adequately in your posts. Don’t overdo it, though.
2. Quality content: Well-researched and written content will attract visitors. People love facts and originality, so do search engines.
3. Regular updates: Everything changes. To remain relevant, keep updating your posts and add info about new things customers should expect.
4. Build good links: Out with the old. Instead of saying ‘click here’, type the name of the destination and then link it. It looks natural.

Improved ranking means your content will be easy to find. The more views it gets, the more likely it will be shared or recommended to other internet users.

You can also focus on local SEO to boost rankings.

Earned Media Coverage via Social Media

Social media is probably the most powerful digital marketing tool today. We sleep and wake up logged into social media!

Today, businesses have their own private social media accounts! It’s that serious.

Don’t sulk if your brand is just launching and you don’t have thousands of Twitter followers.

Earned media coverage got you!

Do periodic, well-written or witty posts on all your social accounts. Photos get the most shares, so infuse the ones that best portray your brand into your posts.

Remember to always read your customers’ comments and suggestions, and give them what they want to read in future posts. They will feel appreciated and motivated to help push your brand to the next level.

Lastly, sharing is caring! Encourage your followers and friends to share your posts. That’s how you get earned media coverage!

Make Use of Paid Media Coverage to Get Earned Coverage

You surely must have a budget for marketing!

Identify influencer marketers within your reach who can represent your brand well. Let them run posts, mentions, and recommendations of your product at a fee.

According to a recent Twitter report, about 40% of users said they made a purchase as a result of an influencer mentioning a product. You can imagine the impact influencers have on other social platforms, especially Facebook which has over 1 billion monthly active users.

From there people will keep spreading the word about your product. Remember, earned media coverage is a byproduct of paid media coverage.

But then these folks don’t come cheap! Don’t worry.

Keep reading to know other free ways to get earned media coverage.

Take Part in Industry Trade Shows

Though this is not web-based, participating in live events related to your products will get a word out there.

Think about it, how else will potential customers who haven’t heard about your product via the web get to know it?

Plus, you’re likely to acquire new customers and the better if they love your products. They become your own brand ambassadors and free marketers.

Remember social media?

After the event, a good number of people may talk about your brand on various social networking platforms. Gradually, more and more people will get to hear about your products or business.

Keep a Mailing List

Though it’s a bit technical to keep and manage a mailing list, it shows you’re committed to your brand.

The trick in making it work is finding something your audience can’t find elsewhere and then keeping them hooked.

So if they love the content, they will have to share the word about you.

Also, respond to all their emails. That way, your customers will know they are important to your brand and share your product news.

Remember to cultivate a relationship with them, and factor in their recommendations. After all, they are the consumers of the product. Tailor it to their perfection.

Conclusion

Whether you’re running an offline or online business, you need to promote your business to increase sales.

Getting earned coverage is a perfect way to increase brand awareness without spending a dime.

To get it, however, you must first implement the strategies outlined in this article.

If you need help getting earned coverage to work for you, or if you have any questions, feel free to contact us.