Gaining Credibility and Building Trust

More Asher Agency clients are coming to us for public relations services to generate meaningful “earned media” to complement their integrated communications and marketing campaigns.

Earned Media Coverage

Earned media coverage can be worth its weight in gold as third-party validation is deemed newsworthy.

• The American College of Sports Medicine partnered with us in July to announce the 2023 ACSM-Elevance Health Foundation Fitness Index, and 300-plus print and broadcast stories shared elements of the research on the 100 top cities.
• Crimson Coward Nashville Hot Chicken is tapping us to announce new store openings and trends in their rapidly-expanding franchise operations.
• Mountain State Oral & Facial Surgery landed 18 earned media placements in two states as part of an integrated campaign to promote new same-day dental implants.
• New River Gorge Regional Development Authority and the West Virginia Hive are consistent newsmakers – and often on the front page — with community and economic development progress.
• PS Fertility LLC worked with us on the Commonwealth of Virginia’s announcement of funding to support this Charlottesville, Va. male fertility testing business.
• The West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine looks to us for strategic content creation and earned media strategies on their many events, community engagement, awards and other activities related to their more than 50 years of training rural primary care physicians.

These and other clients have found that mentions of their organizations and their missions, advocacy agenda, or products and services in the media (without paying the news outlet for it) carry considerable value. The mentions can be when a reporter quotes you as a source in an article or broadcast segment. Or maybe your PR efforts resulted in coverage in social media posts, a popular podcast, best-of lists, or product reviews.

The PESO model takes the four media types — Paid, Earned, Shared and Owned — and merges them together for an integrated — and measurable — communications program. At Asher, our multi-disciplined team of experienced professionals can help you understand how this model  works together and drives business, non-profit and advocacy results.

You can’t purchase or create the credibility that you get from a mention by a third-party like journalists, customers, vendors, policymakers or regulators. Besides the bump in credibility, earned media offers a significant opportunity to build brand awareness and enhance visibility.

Benefits of earned media coverage

1. Generating leads: Earned media can generate leads for your organization. When people read about your business or non-profit in the media or on social media, they may be more likely to learn more about you and take action.
2. Driving traffic to your website: Earned media can also drive traffic to your website, which can lead to increased sales and revenue, more donations, or action on a project or issue. When your group is mentioned in a news story or blog post, it can include a link to your website, making it easy for people to visit and learn more about your overall mission.
3. Establish trust: Earned media includes consumer-driven reviews. The 2022 Social Media Trends report conducted by HubSpot found that more than 50 percent of consumers trust recommendations from people they know. Positive reviews can in turn lead to increased desirable actions.
4. Cost-effectiveness: Earned media is essentially free advertising. It works in tandem with paid content and other marketing tactics. When your organization or business is featured in the media or on social media, you don’t have to pay as much for the positive exposure. This can save your business money in an all-inclusive communications and marketing campaign.

Earned media is your marathon champion at a track meet. It represents a long-term investment that builds your brand’s reputation and increases your mission success. Seeing this work for our clients is very gratifying and challenges us to do more.