Why high-quality earned media coverage matters more than ever

Earning credible, positive media coverage for your organisation, product/service, issue or cause is now more critical than ever. Trust and reputation is hard earned and easily lost in an age where every brand and organisation is a publisher, and people are increasingly turning to social media for news and information.

The flipside of the ease at which information is available at our fingertips in the ‘social media news age’ is that people are increasingly questioning what content and who to trust.

So why is prioritising the pursuit of positive, earned media coverage so important?

1/ It builds your credibility

The inherent credibility that comes with a trusted third-party communicating about you, or what matters to you, is irreplaceable. News and media can be an important source for people when researching a new brand, organisation or issue.  While ‘distrust’ of establishment leaders such as politicians, business leaders and some media outlets may be rising, established media brands are still the ‘go to’ source of trusted information for most people.

Whether people are accessing their news via traditional means such as a newspaper, or via social media (see the ABC’s ‘socialisation’ of its news sources here), earning media coverage is still one of, if not the most effective ways to build trust and credibility.

2/ It helps you reach new, engaged audiences

While every organisation can now effectively act as a publisher, the people following you on social media or reading your blogs are already likely to be advocates or understand what you do. Audiences that read online news, watch and listen to news are also more likely to be engaged and trust that news outlet than the casual social media scroller and so earned media gives you the ability to interact with a new, engaged audience.  

3/ It builds your brand

Earned media can help propel your brand, cause or organisation into culture or the conversations that matter, overnight. This can be both a positive (a campaign to raise or awareness of or bring a new perspective to an issue that matters), or a negative (think a poorly managed response to a crisis). Either way, there are few more impactful ways of changing perceptions or opinions, or building a brand, than sustained media coverage.

4/ It can turbocharge your social media and complement your paid media strategy

With media outlets now focusing on their own social media channels as a way to engage new audiences, any traditional media coverage you earn is likely to also feature on each media outlet’s social media channels. This can obviously build your own audiences, while sharing credible and positive third-party coverage of your organisation, cause or product/service will help build trust and credibility in your own content.

5/ It shows you, your organisation, your cause or what you do matters

Journalists are usually well informed, connected, and know what matters to their audience. They also receive a huge volume of news pitches and story ideas every day. The reality is if your organisation, your spokesperson or cause is highlighted in the media – you have something relevant, interesting and valuable to say.

Anyone can post anything they like on social media (unfortunately). Not everyone has news value.