How To Squeeze The Most Out Of Every Print Appearance

When I chat with our clients about the print coverage we’ve been getting for them, I always ask what they’re doing to get the greatest mileage out of all that coverage.

Way too frequently the answer is either “little” or “nothing,” outside of possibly posting a link to the article on their website. What they are missing is that traditional print and online publicity has value that goes well beyond the initial publication of an article or interview.

In my experience, those who understand that value and take advantage of it are the ones who have the most success with their publicity efforts.

Just as an example, let’s say Forbes decides to interview you. That’s impressive on its own merits, of course, but there are ways you can milk this opportunity for every drop of brand-building potential in it.

How so?

Well, this is where those social media platforms that you may not care for all that much become some of your greatest allies. Let’s look at five ways you can take that one interview and run with it:

• Let your followers know about the interview. You don’t even have to wait until the interview is published to start capitalizing on it. Go on Facebook, Twitter or other social media sites to let people know the interview happened. You can do this in a way that doesn’t sound (too much) like bragging, such as: “Had a great interview about retirement tips with a Forbes writer today. I’ll let you know when her article appears.” As simply as that, you’ve sent your followers a message that tells them you’re a go-to expert for the media.

• Link to the article when it’s published. You already alerted your followers that the article was forthcoming. Once it happens, you can tweet a link to the article or post a link on Facebook or other social media sites. When you do this, you can add a short message that reminds everyone you had promised to let them know when the article was published and you are just following through on that promise.

• Interact with the publication’s social media posts. The odds are the publication also will post a link to the article on its own social media sites. That provides an opening for you to interact with the publication’s followers. You can “like” or “favorite” the post or tweet. Then you can comment on it with a simple statement, possibly aimed at the writer, such as, “Thanks for the great interview.” That lets people know you were part of the article, and may inspire some of them to follow you or respond to your post.

• Share and share again. You don’t have to stop after the first time you share links to the article on your social media platforms. If something comes up in the news relative to the article’s topic, you can always share it again even if it’s months later.

• Consider commenting on the article itself. Social media aside, most publications also allow readers to comment on articles that appear on their websites. That’s another opportunity for you because some of those readers may pose questions that you can respond to. By joining this conversation, you may pick up more social media followers or inspire some people to search out your website to learn more about you and what you have to offer. Avoid getting drawn into those heated debates that comments sections are famous for, though. Your goal is to come across as being helpful and providing value.

Leveraging your print appearances into something more than a here-today-gone-tomorrow moment is a matter of thinking outside the box and not being afraid to promote yourself.

It’s also a matter of recognizing that both traditional and online print opportunities – even the ones at smaller publications – have greater value than you might have realized.

The impact of even one print appearance can be multiplied many times over, expanding your reach with every tweet, comment and post.

Yours in triplicate,

Marsha

P.S. If you want help getting top quality print appearances, give us a call at 727-443-7115 ext. 215.