What Is Traditional PR And Earned Media?
Let’s go back to basics to answer the question, what is traditional PR and earned media?
PR, or public relations, can be a little vague, can mean a lot of things, and comes in a lot of forms, especially considering how many different ways you can promote your business these days. I want to give you the simple answer, the long answer, and all the context you need to fully understand what traditional PR is and how it relates to your business.
What is traditional PR?
Traditional PR is a strategy to spread information about your brand to the public through publications and broadcasters without paying for it.
What is earned media?
Earned media is the specific scenario when your brand is mentioned by a 3rd party publication or broadcaster, without any type of payment.
How are traditional PR and earned media connected?
Where traditional PR is the strategy, earned media is the goal. You use a traditional PR strategy of pitching the media to get an earned media placement about your brand.
What does earned media look like?
If your local newspaper writes an article about your business opening a new location, that’s earned media.
But if you pay the local newspaper for a full-page ad to announce your new location, that’s not earned media because you paid for it, you didn’t “earn” it.
Of course, newspapers aren’t the only form of earned media. If your brand is mentioned in a magazine, podcast, news site, blog, talk show, radio show, or literally any other form of content, that can be earned media too.
What kind of business can do traditional PR?
Any business, with any budget, and basically any type of product or service can run a traditional PR campaign.
If you can spin a story and there’s an audience that will benefit from knowing about it, you can at least try, if not succeed at a traditional PR strategy for your brand.
How is traditional PR different from other forms of PR?
When we talk about traditional PR or earned media, we’re talking about a specific strategy for getting publications to mention your business. This includes reaching out to publications and broadcasters, pitching your brand as news, and having your brand included for free in whatever they publish.
PR could place more emphasis on public perception, damage control, PR “stunts”, and other creative ways to get attention or manage attention and sometimes the PR strategy could be to minimize discussion.
What is the true cost of earned media?
Nothing is truly free, so at the very least, PR costs time and effort.
If you have the budget for a five or six-figure retainer, PR firms can work around the clock to get your brand media attention.
But the truth is, you don’t have to shell out that much to do traditional PR on your own. It’s not rocket science. As long as you know a few things about how the media works, you can DIY PR for next to nothing.
I have plenty of options for small businesses (and PR pro’s!) to learn simplified and effective traditional PR strategies.
What is the value of earned media?
Earned media placements are hard to quantify but extremely valuable for many reasons.
Exposure to new audiences
Increases sales
Enhances your credibility
Lives online forever (if published online)
Often gives you backlinks which are good for SEO!
New content to repurpose for your marketing
What is the difference between marketing, advertising, and PR?
Marketing, advertising, and PR are all part of communications.
Marketing is more of an umbrella term for anything that has to do with reaching the right audience for your business and includes everything from email marketing to data analysis.
Advertising is any paid effort to promote your business. A roadside billboard, a Facebook post boost, and any other form of paying for exposure is advertising.
PR is getting others to talk about your brand. It’s when a magazine features your brand on their cover, when your business is trending on Twitter after you make a big breakthrough, or even when a blogger interviews you for inside information on a niche topic.
How can I start a traditional PR campaign?
The first decision you need to make is whether you want to hire a professional or be your own publicist.
This is usually a simple financial decision because publicists and PR firms are quite expensive. If you have the budget for it, then all you really need to do is find the right professional and let them take the reigns.
But for many small businesses, hiring a professional just isn’t an option. Fortunately, you can still start a traditional PR campaign all on your own! Here’s how I recommend starting:
1. Schedule 1-2 hours early in the week to work on PR
PR is a marathon, not a sprint. You’re going to need to set aside one or two hours every week to work on writing and sending pitches. I think it’s better to do this early in the week because you are going to get more responses if you send an email on Monday than if you send it on Friday.
2. Learn the basics of PR
Now that you have a recurring event on your calendar dedicated to PR, you can use that time to learn how to be your own publicist.
Like I said, it’s not rocket science. You just need to know what the media is looking for, who to contact, and how to craft a story. There’s a few other odds, ends, and etiquette, but I’m confident you’ll pick this up in no time.
If you head on over to my shop, you can find the complete workbook to start learning today.
3. Start sending pitches!
After you know the basics, it’s time to get started on your campaign. My biggest tip is to just get started. You’ll get the best results just by doing it, not by studying forever and ever.
Traditional PR is simple and effective. Earned media can change your business. And now you know what it is!