When I was in grade school, it was cool to see your name in the local newspaper—whether you were mentioned for good grades, sports, a musical achievement or the like. If my name made it into print, we would head straight to the 7-Eleven to pick up the latest issue. I would page through the newsprint scanning for my name, then proudly show it to my mom. She would grab the scissors, clip the article and pin it to the fridge, where it would live out its days, seen only by whomever happened to pass through the kitchen.

Many of us have similar stories. In those days, unless the article was physically mailed to grandma, posting it on the fridge was the extent of our abilities to leverage our “coverage.”

Things have changed.

Today, media placements are destined for much more than life under a fridge magnet. With the right amplification, one placement can be shared, repurposed and extended across multiple channels to reach far beyond its original audience and continue to deliver value.

At Kimball Hughes Public Relations, we are securing meaningful media placements in key B2B trade and Tier One media outlets targeting our clients’ core audiences. Once these articles or broadcast interviews featuring our clients’ quotes, commentary or contributed content are published, we don’t stop there. We work to leverage those placements to ensure they create lasting impact.  

A good public relations partner knows individual opportunities should never be one-and-done opportunities. Those partners will consider amplifying the article through the following:

• Social media: LinkedIn and other relevant social channels can serve as excellent platforms to gain extra attention on a media placement. Consider posting a brief teaser or summary of the article with relevant tags and hashtags along with a link to the article on the company’s LinkedIn page as well as on executive profiles. This practice not only puts original content from your company in front of followers, clients and prospects showcasing third-party validation, it also encourages engagement and drives additional interest in your company.
• Email signatures: Encouraging executives and other employees to reference and link to the article in their email signatures can also serve as a credible endorsement or proof point for clients and prospects.
• Website press rooms: A press room on a company website serves as a home for media placements and press releases. Housing materials here will help draw people to the company website where they can learn more about your company and the services it offers, while supporting discoverability.
• A blog post: A blog post housed on your website can serve to draw more attention to your article and its third-party validation, as well as allow the SMEs to take a deeper dive on the topic or even provide additional information on how the company can provide solutions related to what was discussed in the article.
• A LinkedIn newsletter article: Similar to a blog, the LinkedIn newsletter article could be something written to tease out the media placement and offer additional insight. LinkedIn articles are delivered directly to LinkedIn newsletter subscribers and encourage engagement and sharing broadening the article’s reach considerably.
• Employee communications: Media placements can also be leveraged to generate company pride and excitement. Internal comms teams can distribute media placements with commentary to staff members to build company loyalty, foster company culture and encourage more to participate in media opportunities.
• E-newsletters or direct mail: Weaving mentions of the placements and links into e-newsletters and direct mail to clients and prospects can serve as another touchpoint to highlight that objective validation provided by a media placement, helping to instill reader confidence in the brand.
• Sales materials: Sales teams can take great advantage of the independent validation media placements provide when making a pitch or in a prospect conversation. It can be valuable to include publication mastheads, article summaries and links in sales decks, proposals and the like. Again, doing so showcases third-party validation supporting claims made by the sales team, reinforcing trust in the brand.

With these suggestions for amplification, it is critical to keep copyright in mind. Even if a company SME authored the piece, the company likely no longer owns the collateral. Often, once an article is published it becomes the property of the publication. Any posting of the article in its entirety could violate copyright laws. Media placements should always be properly attributed and should never be copied and pasted in part or in their entirety without permission from the original publishing outlet.

A strategic multi-channel approach leveraging a media placement can result in lasting meaningful impact for sales, the brand and company morale. So don’t just frame that article on your office wall, leverage it.