The PESO Model is more than just a pretty graphic and a list of tactics under each media type. When integrated and implemented correctly, it can be one of the most profitable investments for your business because it builds brand awareness and it generates qualified leads.
But it also is often mishandled, not implemented correctly, and not set up for business success, nor measured for organizational results. This is because many professionals still look at the PESO Model graphic and think, “Oh, this is easy! If I just add some social media advertising and influencer relations to my existing plan, I’ll have made it work.”
That’s not the case at all. Just like you can’t stare at a map of a foreign country and think, “Oh, this is easy. I can see Johannesburg is just a little hockey stick drive to Cape Town. No problem.”
Sure, you might eventually get there, but it’d be a lot, lot easier if you had a strategy and a plan that got you there most efficiently.
Because of this haphazard approach, we often hear executives say, “I spent a ton of money on communications and it didn’t work.” Or, “My marketing team can’t tell me how many qualified leads they’re generating and I don’t know how much of the budget we’re just lighting on fire.” Or (my favorite), “Hiring an agency is like donating money. You write them a check and they walk away.”
In this seven-part series, learn the basics of the PESO Model, how it works and why, what benefits it offers to your business, how to make sure you or your team is implementing it correctly, and which tools you’ll need to use for lasting success.
Let’s get started!
Whether or not you are already using the PESO Model, it’s important to know where your investment is going and why.
When presented with investing in a new marketing process, channel, or even tactic for your business, the question that undoubtedly looms largest is, “How will this benefit us?”
Perhaps you’ve been approached by agencies claiming to have all the answers—only to discover they have none. Or your marketing team is inundated with helping sales with presentations and materials, but not actually marketing the business. Or you have multiple channels vying for precious resources and you need to make a tough decision as to what to keep and what to drop—and how to reallocate resources.
How do you choose?
Because the PESO Model is integrated and includes both brand awareness and lead generation activities, it’s one of the most effective processes you can use to market your organization.
But it’s also challenging to implement, especially if you don’t have someone who understands how each media types work together—and the talent on your team or outsourced to be able to do the work effectively.
The PESO Model is a marketing or communications process that integrates four media types—paid, earned, shared, and owned media.
When you integrate the four media types, you may find you also have influencer engagement, partnerships, and incentive programs that extend beyond your internal walls.
And when the PESO model is working at its best, it can help you establish authority. Authority leads to thought leadership. Thought leadership leads to credibility and expertise.
Others see you as an expert … even your competitors. Google links to you on the first page of results because it also sees you as an expert.
If you have enough authority that both Google and your competitors see you as the expert, you win the human and the SEO game.
This is the golden ticket.
We’ll talk a lot in this series about how to make the PESO Model work, where to start, what to look for in either internal team members or external resources, and how to hold them accountable.
For now, what you need to do next is do an audit of the marketing and communications expertise that already exists.
You don’t have to do this audit yourself, of course, but you should ask for information on all of these things, both to inform your decision-making and to figure out where your weaknesses lie should you implement a PESO Model program.
Once you have a good grasp on the basics of the PESO Model—and either discover you’re doing some things great and some not-so-well or not at all, you’ll be able to get started.
During the next several weeks, we’ll give you all of the tools, information, and knowledge you need to understand how the PESO Model works, what should be expected from your team, and what can be measured (and what should be chalked up to brand awareness and reputation management), and we’ll lead you straight to why it works.
In the meantime, if you have questions for us—or there is something specific you’d like to know more about—you can drop a note in email, drop a comment here, or join the Spin Sucks Community.
Gini Dietrich is the founder, CEO, and author of Spin Sucks, host of the Spin Sucks podcast, and author of Spin Sucks (the book). She is the creator of the PESO Model and has crafted a certification for it in partnership with Syracuse University. She has run and grown an agency for the past 15 years. She is co-author of Marketing in the Round, co-host of Inside PR, and co-host of The Agency Leadership podcast.