Today, securing earned media coverage is more challenging than ever.  Shrinking or disappearing newsrooms, fewer reporters who are being asked to cover more beats and churn out more content every day – all mean that when you do finally land that elusive media placement, it’s critical that you make the most of it. The following are four tips for leveraging media coverage to extend its life and reach. 

• Ask for backlinks: When you do secure media coverage, many times the coverage will also appear online. When that happens, reach out to the reporter or digital editor and ask them to include a backlink to your website in the online story. Search engines see your website as having even higher authority when this happens. It’s even better if the backlink goes to a specific page on your website instead of the home page.

What’s even more meaningful about backlinks is they’re trackable through Google Analytics so you can see how many people clicked the link. The media isn’t always willing to add a deep link, but it never hurts to ask.

• Share on social: Push out coverage through the social media platform that is most appropriate given the content of the coverage. For example, share a culture-focused story via Facebook or a new hire announcement on LinkedIn. As part of this strategy, you might target the right influencers on Twitter or LinkedIn – such as board members or staff – to see if they’d be willing to share your coverage, too.

• Send coverage via email and post to your website: Order digital reprints (if the media outlet offers them) and share the coverage with any of your target audiences that would find the coverage of interest and relevant. Don’t forget to add a link or short summary of the coverage to your website.

• Draft and post your own content: Given the shrinking reporter numbers, many media outlets allow you to post relevant content for a fee. For example, weekly newspapers often provide the opportunity to draft an informational or “how to” article and then post it to their online portal for a nominal fee. It will be listed under “sponsored content,” but you can still share the link with target audiences as you would with an earned piece.

While securing media coverage is never a slam dunk, even when you or your client believes you have the most newsworthy story of the year, the credibility of earned coverage cannot be underestimated and should be leveraged to the hilt.