What Are Media Mentions?
This is when your brand is mentioned organically in a piece of media that gives it more attention. Media mentions range from news articles to social videos to even product reviews by influencers. As long as it brings more spotlight to your brand, it qualifies as a media mention.
However, there are different types of media that a brand can use to achieve optimal visibility. The different types of media are:
- Earned Media
In this category, brands get mentioned based on good user experience, a milestone, or the achievement of something interesting. Here, your brand does not have to make any extra effort, as all the mentions come effortlessly. For instance, if you launch a groundbreaking product, news sites are likely to cover your launch even if you do not pay them. You also get earned media opportunities when your customers recommend you or post content about your brand.
- Owned Media
Here, you can control the messages about your brand because you own the media. This includes your website, social media pages, press releases, mobile apps, and YouTube live sessions.
- Paid Media
Paid media includes all types of media where your brand pays for coverage and visibility. A common example is when your brand sponsors an influencer to promote your product to your audience. Other examples of paid media include:
- TV advertisements
- Billboards
- Google Ads
- Instagram Ads
- Public Relations
This is creating and maintaining beneficial relationships with stakeholders relevant to your brand. They can include events, news stories and reputation management.
- Experiential Marketing
As a brand, you can also get more visibility by giving your customers an experience that will keep them coming back to you. They can include:
- Pop up events
- Booths at popular festivals
- Product sampling and demonstration.
Doing these activities will help your customers connect with the brand emotionally and talk about your brand on their social media.
Remembering that you do not have to stick to one type of media when running a campaign is essential. You can combine these different types if it brings you closer to your goal. One way to do this is by observing how you show up in the media and creating strategies that amplify what you already have.
How Can I Increase My Brand’s Media Mentions?
Stand out:
One of the easiest ways to bring attention to your brand is by developing exciting products and services. When your audience finds your product newsworthy, they will not need any convincing to give your brand publicity.
Nurture your relationships:
Relationships are a good way to generate visibility for your brand. By building connections with customers, journalists and influencers, you will keep getting mentioned in places you want to be seen. One good way to do this is by granting interviews to journalists about projects your brand is currently working on.
Reward user-generated content:
User-generated content is content created by users of a brand to show their experience with the product or service the brand offers. You can capitalise on this by acknowledging user content, organising contests and encouraging your customers to share their stories with the brand.
Monitor your brand mentions religiously:
The first step to finding solutions is knowing what the problem is. Monitoring where your brand is being mentioned and what it is being mentioned for can give you the power to change the narrative.
There are different monitoring tools you can use like:
- SproutSocial,
- Mention
- Hubspot
- Buffer
- Google Alerts
- Hootsuite
- BuzzSumo
- Zoho Social
You should consider your business type and needs before picking the most suitable monitoring tool. These tools will not only monitor mentions but will also measure their impact on your brand visibility.
Engage your brand mentions:
Responding to brand mentions can help you get traction and new, loyal customers. The best way to do this is by being appreciative of positive feedback and promptly attending to negative feedback. You can also go a step further by posting positive comments on your brand handles & website for credibility purposes.
Run targeted campaigns:
You can create measurable campaign goals that can guide you on who exactly you want your adverts to reach. Campaigns can target influencers and media companies or even drive leads to your website or social media handles.
For example, if you want the ad to lead potential customers to your website, you have to include the website link so they can proceed there after being engaged by your content.
Create binge-worthy content:
Content is one of the best ways to get positive brand mentions across social media. Make sure your brand creates content your audience can relate to and will want to share with their community. The more users mention you, the more visibility and credibility you get.
Create partnerships with other brands:
Your brand can collaborate on events or projects with a similar brand to get more mentions across social media. Besides brand mentions, it will also attract new customers who might not have heard about you.
When you actively work on increasing your media mentions, you will show your brand to the right people and achieve goals faster. Consistency is important here, so you must always work for this strategy to work. Ready to start this journey? Let’s help you out!
