We got some publicity!… Now what?

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Getting an article published about you in a newspaper, trade journal or online is a big feat. There’s no doubt that you put in lots of effort, and you’re going to enjoy the extra publicity. It’s not time to rest on your laurels though!

Any article published about you or your business can keep working for you long after its initial circulation has finished. Instead of just filling some space on a pin-board, you can use the articles to build your brand credibility and to give reporters a good reason to write a little more about you.

The number of articles/mentions you get in the media should also be a key metric you use for tracking your marketing agency/team’s effectiveness. Even b2b companies can benefit from media coverage.

Recording the details

The first step is to make sure that all your article details are properly recorded so that you can cite them properly. There’s nothing worse than saying “yeah someone wrote about us, but we can’t remember who”. Wikipedia has a great mechanism of citation that you can refer to, but as a general rule for any type of publicity you get, remember to capture the following details:

  • Name of the author(s)
  • Title of the article within quotation marks
  • Name of the publication in italics
  • City of publication, if not included in name of publication
  • Year&month/date, of publication
  • Volume number, issue number, and page numbers (article numbers in some electronic journals)
  • Scanned copy/pdf copy of the article itself (really handy in case the original publication disappears)
  • URL of publication (if also published online)

Your article citations should look something like this:

Blogs, Joe. “Gourmet Cooking in Hotel”. The Acme Trade Journal. New York.  1999/12/31, Vol 1, Issue 2, p3

Try to fill all the details in, but don’t worry if you’re missing a few details. It becomes considerably more difficult to get some of these details as the articles age, so it’s best to record the details as soon as the article’s published.

Building Credibility

If you have a Wikipedia page, put your articles as references or external links at the bottom of your Wikipedia page. This not only makes your business look more well established, but the chances of editors removing well cited/referenced pages is much more limited (as long as the rest of the page is still in compliance with Wikipedia policy).

At a minimum, add just the citations with a link to the online version (if available) or the scanned copy, on the Press/Media page of your website. If you don’t have a Press page, this is perfect time to create one. Journalists are always more comfortable writing about a business that’s been published before.

Shout about it

Of course, remember to tell the world 🙂 Someone wrote about you! It’s a big deal. Talk about it through all your social channels, send out an EDM. Let people know you’re a little bit more famous. The extra attention is what you’re looking for!

What are you doing to make the most of your media coverage?