When communicators discuss where to start a PESO Model program, it’s often fraught with how and where to start.
Because the acronym begins with P (or paid media), everyone assumes that’s where a communications program grounded in the PESO Model begins.
Not so!
There are certainly exceptions to the rule, but in most cases, you want to begin with owned media, which is the cornerstone of your efforts.
Without it, you don’t have anything to share on social media, nothing to amplify with paid, and nothing to gain credibility for with earned.
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While each element of the PESO Model can—and oftentimes does—work in silos, the real power is when you integrate them as one.
To get started on the foundation of your program, you want to think about how to integrate owned and earned media—and how to get the most out of both. You don’t start with paid or shared. You start with owned and earned.
Because, when you combine the two media types, you build authority both online and off.
To do that, though, you have to think about how to use your content and media contacts to help your website rank on the first page of Google results.
Choose a Keyword
Start off by choosing a keyword. Just one. I’ll use “PR metrics” as an example.
When we started talking about metrics communicators can use in their reporting, NO ONE searched on the topic and there was no competition.
But it was important to us that we start that conversation and start to show the industry that we absolutely and positively can attribute the work we do to real business results.
While there wasn’t any search volume yet, we looked at it as if we were launching a new industry category.
When you focus on one keyword at a time, it allows you to put all of your time and energy behind one topic for your owned media.
(You can eventually add in more keywords, but start with just one and don’t overanalyze or allow yourself to get overwhelmed.)
This comes in handy as you start to integrate earned media.
Brainstorm Different Topic Ideas
Once you’ve chosen your keyword, brainstorm different topic ideas using that one word or phrase.
For instance:
- What are the PR metrics executives should lean on communicators for?
- Are vanity PR metrics applicable in communications campaigns?
- Which PR metrics should I include in my earned media campaign?
- Which PR metrics should I include in my shared media campaign?
- Which PR metrics should I include in my owned media campaign?
- Which PR metrics should I include in my paid media campaign?
- Which PR metrics should I include in my PESO Model campaign?
- Which PR metrics are most important?
If you need help thinking this through, this article will help you step-by-step.
You can also join PRSA and me on May 18 and 25 for a workshop on how to integrate the two…more on that in a bit.
Divide Your List
Once you’ve brainstormed all of your ideas, divide your list in half. Which topics do you want to own—or keep on your own website or blog—and which ones are you going to use for contributed content—or use in your earned media efforts?
There are many benefits to dividing it up this way, but the biggest is so you can earn a valuable link to your keyword-focused content on the website from a high domain authority site, such as a newspaper or magazine.
This is one of the factors Google uses in determining your search results and if a newspaper or magazine says you’re an expert on any given topic, which is indicated by the link to your site, Google gives you a gold star.
Just like in school, gold stars are good!
To see how well this works in real life, Google “PR metrics.”
You’ll see Spin Sucks is on the first page of results—and that we’ve encouraged others to write about it.
It’s a discussion we have almost daily in the Spin Sucks Community.
It’s not going away and we’d like to be part of the important conversation.
Integrate Owned and Earned Media
It can be pretty easy to imagine keeping all of your hard work to yourself and not pitching contributed content at all.
But that will end up hurting you in the long run.
You need to do both—have content on your website and provide contributed content to your targeted media outlets and blogs.
You also need to understand how to use your journalist and blogger relationships to earn a link from their site to your own.
During How to Maximize Owned and Earned Media to Garner (Real) Results next month, I will teach you exactly how to do this—and how to build your foundation to add in shared and paid media so you have a fully-functioning PESO Model program that delivers results your executives or clients care about.
In the meantime, if you have questions about this process or how to use it in your own organization, the comments are yours.