It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over! What That Catch Phrase Means in PR Repurposing great stories for maximum effort.
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One of the most important goals in PR is to secure media coverage. "Placements" are the lifeblood of our industry. "Publicity," "press" or media "hits" are how we show value. But whatever the descriptor used, media coverage is almost always a good thing. However, when a PR team achieves a great media placement, the thing to keep in mind is that "it ain't over "til it's over."
This saying is widely attributed to baseball legend Yogi Berra, whose bons mots have become famous cultural touchpoints over the years — including the phrase by Olympia Dukakis in the film "Moonstruck" when her character Rose Castorini talks about having a baby later in life.
But what does "it ain't over "til it's over" mean for PR people in the context of a great media placement?
It means that PR people should re-use and re-purpose their great stories and leverage those hits as much as possible for maximum effect. Doing so helps gain additional value beyond the initial "eyeballs" that might read the article. Ultimately, ROI on media relations efforts and PR programs should be considered integral to a company's overall marketing efforts.
What to do after securing great media placements
After securing top-tier coverage, PR people should swing into action by implementing several best practices that ensure "it ain't over." Sharing positive media coverage increases reach and ROI, with applications across social media channels, sales enablement and lead gen campaigns, as well as for corporate blogs and newsletters.
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Moving quickly
A key to making the most of positive media coverage is to act fast so that the news remains fresh. A great starting point is the near-immediate sharing of the coverage across all social channels.
More than offering a link, social posts should draw readers in by providing an excerpt or highlight, like an executive quote. Hashtags help readers find the coverage, and its amplification to customers, partners, employees and investors drives stakeholder engagement. Social sharing among your online communities is more likely by distributing coverage quickly.
Due to its role as a B2B platform, special attention should be paid to LinkedIn. When coverage happens, social teams should draft LinkedIn posts for sales to aid lead generation. A comprehensive effort includes tagging the people and companies in the story and providing suggested copy that enables employees to cut and paste their own LinkedIn posts. Efforts around LinkedIn show that your company and the sales team are invested in sharing valuable industry information. Posting your coverage each week will help position your company as an industry resource and thought leader.
Social or LinkedIn content is easily reworked into email format for customer/prospect email newsletters and lead gen and nurturing campaigns. A great article about your firm provides sales with an immediate "why now" reason to follow up with warm prospects and helps reinforce your company's value and remain top of mind. Finally, don't forget the employee newsletter. Employees often take great pride in seeing coverage featuring their employer, contributing to morale and retention.
Once positive coverage is shared across social channels and sales, look to your blog to gain more mileage. Blogs can offer additional context, adding value to coverage by integrating messages that build on the story. In some cases, like coverage on a technical or complicated subject, the post might include a company subject matter expert's perspective or could take a "lessons learned" or case study approach to further explore your company's value. And while the media are rather brand-agnostic, a blog can help "connect the dots" for readers and deliver strong brand messages. Importantly, posts should offer a call to action as part of an overall blogging strategy.
Sharing great coverage with executives is always a good idea, too. Savvy CEOs often share media results with the board, generating support — and further funding — for PR programs. This benefits the entire marketing organization, as well as agencies.
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It really ain't over "til it's over
Only after completing the process of merchandising media results can PR professionals consider the media relations cycle to be finished. Creating long-lasting value from media placements is a straightforward process that can have a powerful multiplier effect for your media "hits." And we'd like to think that our old pals Yogi and Olympia would be glad to know that it still ain't over "til it's over!
