Today's PR pros need to be aware of how earned media, paid media and owned media overlap. In this presentation, a veteran digital marketer and journalist looks at the new reality of managing PR, advertising and social media through collaboration.

2. About Me
• Founder of Ishmael Digital Content
• Contributing Editor, Adweek.com
• Former VP/Digital Content, Luckie & Co.
@Griner
DavidGriner.net
Cover photo: Ben Sutherland/Flickr Creative Commons

3. In many ways, PR pros were the
original content strategists.
Public relations created long-term storylines
centered on a brand and found the right content
creators to help craft the narrative.

4. But many in the PR field today
are hobbled by the belief that paying
for any form of content is unethical.
Earned media from journalists is only one part of the
equation. Well-compensated bloggers and content
creators are vital pieces of today's marketing mix.

5. Spending money isn't unethical.
Lack of transparency is unethical.

6. We're not talking about
transparency with readers, though
that's important (and occasionally
required by law).
We're talking about transparency with
content creators such as bloggers and creatives.

7. The big three of modern content:
1. Earned Media
2. Sponsored Content / Native Ads
3. Promoted Content And Brand
Journalism

8. Where do these live?

10. Sponsored Posts
Press Releases
Promoted Content

11. Native
Advertising?
Dragons?
Multi-agency
bloodbath?

12. I. Earned Media

13. Earned Media
Defined by: Generating unpaid content packaged
as news or features.
Largest investment: PR hours.
Pros: Authenticity and credibility of messenger.
Cons: Uncontrollable, time consuming and nearly
impossible to measure.

14. Yes, most journalists still operate
under this approach. However,
bulk pitches are losing whatever
value they once had.

15. Journalists want information,
exclusivity and timely support.
They don't want lengthy, pre-prepared statements
telling them how to do their jobs.

16. The best PR people:
● Know who I am and maintain a relationship
● Don't send me copy-and-paste releases, except
occasionally as an attachment
● Understand my audience and my content focus
● Work exceptionally quickly to get me the
answers and resources I need
● Recognize that I can't cover everything and that
sometimes I won't like what they're pitching

18. Personalized
note and offer
of exclusivity.
Client and credit
Thumbnails
YouTube link
Traditional
release copy

19. Relationships don't happen in bulk.
In today's media environment, your time is better
spent securing a few good writeups through hard
work than blasting the same release to 500
journalists.

20. Also, it doesn't always pay to put
journalists before your fans.

23. Likes: 4,557
Shares: 711
Comments: 2,272

24. By turning this subtle
logo change into a
"spot the difference"
game for fans instead
of a media exclusive,
we ended up on the
Yahoo News
homepage anyway.

25. But what about bloggers?
Instagrammers? Pinners?
Should they be treated like journalists?

26. Here are a few questions to ask
yourself before expecting unpaid
coverage.

27. 1. Is this person a salaried or
otherwise compensated media
professional?

28. 2. How much work am I asking
this person to do?

29. 3. Who stands to benefit most
from this arrangement?

30. 4. Is this earned media or a
marketing partnership?

31. 5. Would your business agree to
an arrangement like this?

32. "You can't pay the power
company with beer."

33. It's unreasonable to expect selfemployed content creators to
work for free.
Especially if you don't know them and
have little to offer in return.

34. “
The traditional PR doesn't really work
the way it used to. Most bloggers
trash the press releases without even
reading them.
It's not always about money, but truly
thinking what you can offer to the
person.
”
Katja Presnal
Travel Blogger
SkimbacoLifestyle.com

35. The same goes for Instagram
photographers and other online
creative talents.

36. That means use respect, be authentic, and
don't bullshit them. Pitch your interest, ask
for what you need, and be ready to
offer/negotiate a reasonable price for the
work you're requesting.
“
“
Approach a photographer (or anyone) you
want a partnership with in the same way
you'd want to be approached by someone
asking you to do work for a job — because
that's what you're doing.
Lotus Carroll
Photographer
LotusCarroll.com

37. The right partnerships begin with
setting the right client expectations.
Create a budget that reflects today's reality and
includes hard costs for content creator fees. This might
mean fewer hours for you, but it'll mean bigger results.

38. II. Sponsored Content and Native Ads

39. Sponsored Content
Defined by: Paying a media outlet or personality
to run content that helps support your brand.
Largest investment: Media or sponsorship fees.
Pros: Combines credibility with controllability.
Cons: Content often gets treated like a press
release and stuck in approval limbo.

40. Native Advertising
Defined by: Working with a site to produce content
that fits seamlessly into the site's user experience.
Largest investment: Media fees.
Pros: Tailored to the audience and nondisruptive.
Cons: Specific to one outlet and requires quite a bit of
collaboration and trust.

42. Should PR even be involved in
something like native advertising?
Yes, unless you want those dollars to go elsewhere.

43. How do you go about creating great
native ad content?
It starts with reaching out to the right partners and
recognizing that you're going to be putting most of
your eggs in one basket.

44. The biggest mistake of most marketers
and PR people is thinking that they
know how to do good content. This is
rarely the case.
“
“
My best advice for marketers looking to
jump into this and partner with media
outlets would be: Find a talented team
that has had success reaching your
target audience, and then get the hell
out of the way.
Kolby Yarnell
Director of Content
Adweek Brandshare

45. The content always comes first.
It needs to be as good as or better than
anything else on the site. The goal isn't to sell the client
brand. The goal is to demonstrate the brand's value.

47. Native ad content often succeeds
where other forms of sponsored
content fail because native ads are
crafted with the audience in mind.
Bad content risks backlash from readers and site
contributors alike.

48. “
“
It's terrifying, but it's also really exciting.
There's this misconception that
advertising content just needs to be bad
and interruptive, that it basically needs
to surround the content that people
actually want to consume.
Our position is that advertising doesn't
have to be bad. It can be good. It can be
interesting.
James Del
Executive Director
Studio@Gawker

49. A few questions to ask potential
native advertising partners:
●
●
●
●
●
Who creates the content?
How do approvals work?
What kind of results have you generated?
What's the pricing structure?
How is our sponsorship disclosed?

50. III. Promoted Content

51. Promoted Content
Defined by: Paying a social or ad network to promote
content posted to a brand's own channels.
Largest investment: Content development time and
promoted content fees.
Pros: Puts your content in front of targeted audiences.
Cons: Not piggybacking on anyone else's credibility.

52. Promoted content is a vital part of
social media and PR today.
If you're helping generate content, you need to insist
on being involved in promoting it, as well.

53. Promoted content
on Facebook

54. Promoted content on Twitter

55. Promoted content on LinkedIn

56. Google+ is testing promoted content in Google's ad network

57. Coming
soon to
Pinterest

58. What role does PR play in promoted
content?
PR is about being responsive, and that's where
promoted content truly shines.

59. Your job doesn't end when you land
a good clip.
Make the most of it by sharing it on the brand's social
channels, then promoting your post to new audiences.

60. Promoted content is about keeping
an eye on what's happening.
Watch the online conversation for conversational
spikes that involve your client and jump on the
opportunities to have your promoted messaging in the
mix.

61. Closing Thoughts

62. It's an exciting time to be in PR,
even if we don't still call it PR in a
few years' time.

63. PR will never flourish if we're afraid
of spending money.
If you're not owning the conversation with your client
about promoted content, sponsored partnerships and
native ad campaigns, someone else will.

64. Thanks for your time.
David Griner
@Griner
DavidGriner.net
Slideshare.net/Griner