What is public relations?
Public Relations (PR) utilises media channels to promote your business and nurture a positive perception, build trust, influence opinion and behaviour and manage your reputation. As Jean-Louis Gassee, a former Apple executive, said “Advertising is saying you’re good. PR is getting someone else to say you’re good”.
PR can be organised into four categories: paid, earned, shared and owned media, or PESO. They use different strategies to reach, engage and build trust with your audience, therefore, they should all be included in your PR strategy.
Paid media involves an investment in distributing your content. It enables you to get your content in front of the people you want to see it. Paid media includes social media advertising, pay-per-click (PPC), print advertising and boosted/sponsored content on social.
Earned media is coverage by third parties that hasn’t been paid for. This is the traditional domain of PR and takes time, effort and consistency to establish. Earned media includes media relations, link building, reviews/endorsements and word of mouth.
Shared media is typically social media and user-generated content. Content can be posted on your social channels and shared with your audience or you audience is mentioning you on their platforms. Shared media relevant for B2B includes LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.
Owned media is any content or channel that you can control. It’s evergreen content that will attract target audiences as long as it’s relevant and engaging. You control the messaging and tell the story. Owned media includes websites, email, content marketing and videos.
People don’t buy products, they buy brands.
