Companies spend hundreds and thousands of dollars every month with PR companies to get earned media. Earned media, by its very nature, is typically hard to control in both messaging and distribution. This is what makes earned media so valuable to brands. Once you’ve received positive third-party coverage, you can use these tips to strengthen your message.

1. Spread it on social media – the first thing you should do to spread the message of your positive coverage is to post it to social media. Make sure to take the time to create custom graphics for your posts as needed. Also, be sure to use hashtags when appropriate to gain additional exposure outside your present followers. Ask others in your company to spread the word about your new coverage.
2. Track it – many times once you get earned media, you’ll find that additional outlets will pick up this coverage and redistribute it. They may do this through their social channels or their website. Be sure to give them some love for their exposure by liking or re-tweeting their messages. You can use tools like HootSuite or Google alerts to monitor your mentions.
3. Amplify your earned media – once you’ve received your positive coverage there’s no sense letting it drop from consciousness after a few days. This coverage could take you days, weeks, or even months to receive. Using sponsored stories or content style ads allows you to extend your coverage for as long as you’d like. The great thing with paid content style ads like Newsbullets is it allows you to target your specific audience in ways that general earned media does not allow.
4. Measure your results – like any other online marketing endeavor, it is important that you track and measure your successes. Your earned media on a publisher’s site will usually have social media counters that allow you to track how many people have interacted with the article. Additionally, you should keep track of how many comments, both good and bad, you receive. You can also use tools like Google analytics to view how many visitors you’ve received from a specific website. You will also need to use analytics to see how many conversions you’ve received from your earned media.

Your sponsored stories and content style ads will have its own set of metrics that you can use to judge the amount of traffic you’ve received, plus any conversions that have been delivered.

Everyone gets so excited when they receive positive PR coverage in a publication. Remember to use these tips to further spread the word and amplify your work results.