This year’s Edelman Trust Barometer - which measures trust across a number of institutions, sectors and geographies – reveals that social media companies have lost the trust of the public. In fact only a quarter of the UK population now say that they trust social media as a source of news and information. However there has been a huge increase in trust in traditional media (61%), reaching levels not seen since 2012, as well as a rebound in trust in experts and leaders. So what does this all mean for recruitment marketers?
Media coverage matters
Well first and foremost, no one is saying that social media isn’t important – it is obviously a fantastic way to broadcast your message – however what is more crucial than ever given Edelman’s research is that the content and messages you are broadcasting have credibility. And how do you get that credibility? One way is through appearing in the press that your target audiences read, trust, and turn to for information.
PR is just a cost
Despite this, however, many recruitment marketers that are only too eager to get their company featured in the press are prevented from doing so effectively. And it boils down to the same argument we hear time and time again. PR is deemed a cost rather an investment, a vanity project, and something that doesn’t help the business development strategy and deliver leads. The result is that too many agencies shy away from traditional media relations, instead opting for advertorials or nothing at all. So at a time when Edelman’s research clearly demonstrates that media really does matter, how can marketers get press coverage and, crucially, demonstrate its ROI?
Getting press coverage…and effectively leveraging it
First and foremost you need to be appearing in the publications that your target audiences read. And to successfully achieve this you need to sell in articles and develop press releases that demonstrate what you know, and not what you do. But equally as important is to have a robust process in place which ensures you are making the most of your press coverage. Simply leaving it in reception won’t cut it – the people that arrive at your office have already found you. You need to be sharing it with potential clients and candidates. So what are you doing with the coverage, and what are your consultants doing? Are you disseminating it on social media? Are you turning it into a blog post for your site? And are you encouraging recruiters to not only share it online but also send it to potential clients to demonstrate their expertise?
ROI? Measurement is the Holy Grail
Having a process in place is one thing, but unless it is measured effectively the ROI is hard to prove. You need to be looking at your outputs. Is the coverage you are posting on social media being shared by other users? Are followers on your LinkedIn company page going up? And if so who are these people? Are you feeding details of these individuals into your consultants as leads to follow up? You also need to be measuring and monitoring your blog and website traffic when you post a piece of coverage. All these activities are a must and will help you demonstrate that your PR activities are producing a return on investment.
We’ve got numerous examples of campaigns we’ve worked on with agencies that have delivered successful ROI – take a look at some of them here.
And if you’d like more advice on how to develop and implement a media relation campaign that not only demonstrates your agency as thought leader, but that also delivers new clients and candidates, get in touch today.
Author: Stephanie King
