Incorporating Media Relations into a Marketing Strategy

By Justin Meise
Principal, River Communications

Positive press coverage can be a valuable element to the overall marketing plan for an advisory firm. As investment experts, advisors have a wealth of information to share with reporters who continuously need story ideas on investing. Become a regular source, and gain a de facto third-party endorsement that enhances your credibility and your visibility.

However, working with the press poses a unique challenge because, unlike advertising or Web and e-marketing, the final product is in someone else’s hands. That lack of control should not keep your advisory firm from exploring a public relations(PR) program, but it does deserve the appropriate consideration and planning.

In An Independent Advisor is Guide to Public Relations, Pershing Advisor Solutions provides you with valuable guidance on developing appropriate content, building a PR program and working with the press. This comprehensive guide offers tips and ideas to help you present your firm to reporters and includes templates for fact sheets, executive bios and press releases—all geared to the needs of journalists.

Although a PR program should be tailored to individual firms, the best practices generally include:

• Developing Specific PR Messaging — Marketing language common in brochures frequently is a turn off to reporters and editors. Distill your firm’s value proposition down to three or four simple points that make it easy to blend the firm’s strengths into a discussion of any related topic. Avoid jargon, overused language and marketing speak and focus on the value to investors.
• Developing Thought Leadership Content that Educates or Informs — “Thought Leadership” is the buzzword du jour for marketers, and with good reason. Content that informs, educates or takes a position on a topical issue establishes expertise and credibility and appeals to editors. Good thought leadership might include: commentary on the latest volatility or policy changes that affect a portfolio. Poor examples focus on your firm which is essentially a product or sales pitch.
• Getting Media Trained! — Most reporters are not out to destroy anyone’s reputation, but they are in the business of writing interesting stories. Mishandle an interview and you risk having a poor portrayal of your expertise in the press—and that can live forever on the Web. Basic media training teaches you to think like reporters, anticipate questions, arrive prepared and handle challenging issues with aplomb.
• Fully Leveraging Positive Press — You have to help people notice your positive press. Let clients and prospects know when you appear in the media. Post links or reprints to the news section of your website (with proper permissions of course).

Positive press coverage can be a useful addition to any firm’s marketing program, but it requires time, patience and a commitment.

Click here to request more information from River Communications.