INTRODUCING: THE PESO METHOD

As you know, I like to spill the tea when it comes to telling the truth about PR, because there are waaaay too many people spreading mis-information in the Wild West of Social Media

If there’s just one thing you can guarantee to get out of me, it’s the truth

This newsletter has been inspired by two posts I’ve seen on social media recently. The first one was a business coach stating that she’d never pay for media coverage (as if paying for media coverage was below her), and the second was from a PR freelancer in a group I’m in, who seemingly believed that paid media isn’t PR.

In both of these cases I realised that not enough people know about the PESO Model, which blows my mind, because the PESO Model should underpin your PR and Marketing Strategy if you have teams in-house, or if you’re investing in external agency support.

If the PESO Model is completely new to you (or you just need to refresh your memory) then grab a piece of paper and a pen as I’m about to fill you in….

PESO is an acronym for four key words:

• Paid Media
• Earned Media
• Shared Media
• Owned Media

Each keyword, or tactic, in this case, plays a key role in how your brand communicates externally, and all key tactics should be used in your comms strategy, rather than focussing on each tactic in silo.

Now that you know what PESO stands for, let’s dive into each of the tactics individually

Paid Media

As the name suggests, this is media that you’re paying for. Essentially, this includes things such as traditional online and offline advertising, SEO, PPC and sponsored content. It also includes affiliate marketing and influencer marketing and also covers the cost of becoming a paid contributor (think Entrepreneur Leadership Network or Forbes Council)

And this is where the lines are often blurred between paid media and earned media, when publishing houses give business owners or thought leaders the opportunity to pay to become a contributor.

However, from a strategy standpoint, having a regular column is akin to advertising, as you’re essentially promoting your products, services and expertise, but it’s being delivered as editorial rather than an advert.?

(Once upon a time advertorials existed, but these seem to have been phased out in many media outlets)

"Long-form copy is great for storytelling and getting customers or clients to buy into the vision and mission of your brand, whereas an advert is there to deliver a message quickly to create impact and entice action."

Paid editorial placements, such as paying to be a contributor, give you the opportunity to focus on the message that you want to convey to an audience. You get to control the narrative, which you can’t do to the same level with earned media.

(If you want to read more about earned media vs paid media, head over to my blog)

Earned Media

Often seen as the Holy Grail of PR, earned media is what PR Agencies have focussed on since the dawn of time.

The outcome is that your brand is featured in media outlets without having to pay for the space. Many years ago, when I first started in the PR industry there was a belief that earned media coverage was 3x more valuable than paid media, hence why it was so important for brands to invest in PR alongside paid media tactics.

An advert delivers a metaphorical slap in the face and grabs the attention of customers, whereas earned media allows brands to take customers on a journey and focus on building the know-like-trust factor so that customers feel aligned with the brands they’re buying into.

"Unlike paid media, earned media is unpredictable. There’s no guarantee that a journalist, producer or podcast host will accept your pitch, or choose you to be featured, and if they do, there’s no guarantee that your ideal customers will take further action (visit your website, follow on social media etc)"

This is why there’s so much emphasis on the number of times a potential customers has to see your content before they’ll take action (hence why the PESO Model is crucial in growing your business)

When I first started working in the PR industry in 2004, it was believed that customers needed to see three pieces of your content before taking action. Apparently that has now increased to 27 pieces of content ?? (these figures haven’t been verified btw so it could be utter BS - although it is higher now than it used to be, based on the different ways in which brands can communicate these days, making it harder to stand out and grab attention)

Earned media can often feel risky but the rewards far outweigh any uncertainty around its effectiveness, especially if you’re focussing on increasing brand awareness, boosting credibility and being seen as a leader in your industry

(If you’d like to find out more about how earned media can drive the growth of your business, book a PR Consultation Call with me here)

Alternatively, another way to utilise earned media is via guest blog posts, where you team up with a blogger who shares similar interests to you, or has an audience that you’d like to tap into.

Earned media doesn’t always have to include media outlets, it can be any comms channel or platform that allows you to share content for free, that you’ve earned

Shared Media

Shared media is basically another name for social media - you’re sharing info about your brand, products and services directly to your audience.?

Often considered the easiest part of the PESO Model, shared media gives you a chance to really build the know-like-trust factor with your audience, to give them a look at your brand behind the scenes, get them to participate in polls to help with decision making and give them a sneak peek into new product development or launches

"Social media is a fantastic tool to engage with your audience, to ask them questions, respond to comments in the thread and really build your reputation. However, you cannot rely on social media to do all the heavy lifting for you as you’re always fighting an algorithm that you’ll never win."

Most social media posts will only ever be seen by 1-2% of your audience, which is why it’s so important to focus on the wider PESO Model, so that your social media followers are also seeing your content via other channels and platforms.

I love an analogy, so for me, Earned Media (PR) is like the invitation to receive for a party. It tells you everything you need to know about the event, when it is and how to get there. Shared Media (Social Media) is the experience people have once they’re at the party.

PR drives your audience into your brand, marketing ensures they stay with you, either as customers or superfans

Owned Media

As the name suggests, owned media is a form of content that you ‘own’. So every blog that you write, every newsletter you publish and every post you share on social media. If you have your own podcast or YouTube channel then this is also owned media.

"With owned media, you choose what you share, the channels you use to share it and who you share it with."

Owned media gives you the opportunity to say what you want in your content, without having to adhere to advertising guidelines or the narrative of the media. Essentially, you don’t have to fit yourself into someone else’s framework.

An advantage to owned media is that it leaves a digital footprint. A Blog on your website stays live for as long as you want it to. A podcast stays on itunes or Spotify and videos stay on YouTube.

It’s also cost effective because you’re not having to invest additional money in sharing your content to your audience. However, it’s fair to say that owned media can feel harder to build because it requires an audience to share it with, which is why it works incredibly well alongside paid media, earned media and shared media.

Why use the PESO Model?

As you can see, the PESO Model is a powerful tool you can use to grow your business, whatever stage you’re at. How much time you choose to spend on each area will be determined by two key factors:

• Resources
• Budget

If you're a small business owner then you’ve probably got more time to invest than money, therefore you need to focus on the areas that are going to deliver the most value and impact. Earned media may feel like a lengthy process with very few guarantees, yet media outlets often have an engaged audience that can span anything from 20,000 readers to 25 million readers.?

"By focussing on PR and Earned Media, you’re driving more people into your audience, which will increase your website traffic as well as social media followers."

Paid Media can then amplify the results of your Earned Media, as you already know who you’re targeting and what message you’re delivering to them. This removes a lot of the testing and tweaking involved in paid advertising, and saves you from paying for the privilege!

Once your audience grows, you’ll get a bigger ROI on your Shared Media and Owned Media as you’ll have a much larger audience of people who have bought into the mission, vision and ethos of your brand, who are more likely to interact with, and share your content organically, which will further boost your presence and market share.

If your brand is scaling, it may be that you’re already focussing a lot of money and resources on paid media and shared media, but have plateaued because you’re not driving enough traffic into the top of your funnel.

If that’s the case then bringing Earned Media into the mix will do a lot of that heavy lifting for you. If you haven’t got the resources or expertise in-house, then this is where an external PR Agency will deliver the most bang for your buck.

If you’re already an established brand that’s investing in Paid Media, Earned Media and Shared Media, then now would be a great time to start looking at launching a podcast or YouTube channel to sustain your reputation and add even more value to existing customers, while attracting new ones.

I see so many businesses invest in podcasts and YouTube channels as a way to grow their audience or monetise their content, but unless you already have a huge audience, you’re basically launching a new service from scratch, in the hope that your existing audience will transfer over to a different comms channel.

Don’t do it!

Look at the PESO Model before launching anything new and see what tweaks you can make easily that will actually drive the growth of your business forwards