It’s been said, “media loves media”. By that I mean that often once you have received coverage in one media vehicle, you will often be called by another for a follow up story or slightly different take on a news angle. The reason behind this is simple: Reporters read and listen to each others stuff, and with increasingly squeezed editorial budgets, the repurposing of material and spin offs is increasing. There’s also likely some complacency in pursuing new material. All this adds up to a multiplier effect from earned media.
A case in point that I’d like to consider this week is Tracy Brown. Tracy was formerly a competitive cyclist in the US, and is now a body language expert, having learned much of her craft for “reading” body language as a professional athlete. Based in Colorado as a speaker, she’s a friend and colleague, as well as a ski buddy. I had been noticing recently how she was rocking the earned media, so as part of an interview I did for a segment to include in an upcoming presentation, we chatted at the end of the week about the coverage she’s received, how she got it, and most importantly, what she’s doing with it now.
To sum it up in her words?
“One found me and then the rest followed.” While there was a whole lot more work to it then that for sure, here are the notes from our conversation…
1. COVERAGE SHE’S RECEIVED
During the lead up to the US Trump election she saw an opportunity to comment on the meaning of body language during the campaign and debates. She worked hard to get media coverage, because she wanted to get fresh TV coverage to include in and updated speaker video. She knew that appearing on TV would give credibility with her audience, and after tireless work making pitches and following up she did two interviews on Fox Denver, and another on Denver 7, a local ABC affiliate. She pitched Good Morning America, but didn’t get it. But the recent Prince Harry engagement is what has pushed her over the edge. Good Housekeeping found her through a website search for “body language expert”, tabloids in the UK followed suit, as did an exclusive piece in Marie Claire magazine. Since the Good Housekeeping and Marie Claire piece, she’s had media calls daily for two weeks solid.
2. HOW SHE GOT IT
Tireless old-fashioned pitching, follow up, knowing and working media contacts, and being able to recognize an opportunity and unique angle were at the heart of her success. She has worked it for sure. But once the tide turned and the media were finding her, it suddenly got easier.
3. WHAT SHE’S DOING WITH IT NOW
Tracy always makes sure that when she is quoted in the media that they link back to her website. http://bodylanguagetrainer.com/ That is key to SEO. When a powerful media such as NBC or Fox is linked to your site, Google immediately recognizes you as more credible and boosts your ranking in search. She is also very engaged in using the media coverage to further engage speaker bureaus, as well as tip a decision with a client considering hiring her. She also of course features the coverage on her website, and cycles it through her social media channels, always linking back to her site. Tracy also notes that publishing pieces in her topic area with the Huffington Post gives her a lot of credibility with the media, making it easier to pitch, but also have elevated search ranking. She’s yet to do any paid boosting of content.
In a nutshell, Tracy is working the 5-pillar media approach of OWNED, RENTED, EARNED, EMBEDDED and PAID media brilliantly. Her wheelhouse primarily focuses on earned and embedded with some rented (social media) all focused on building traffic and search engine optimization for her owned media, her website.
If you’re curious to learn more about the 5-pillar approach, I’ve written about it extensively on this blog, but I also did a video recently as part of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers Expert Accelerator Series. You can view that video HERE explaining the 5-Pillar media strategy.
And if you’d like to download my free 5-Step CHEAT SHEET on how to leverage your owned, rented, earned, embedded and paid media, you can do that HERE.
