The Impact of Media Coverage on your Reputation

As public-relations professionals, a lot of what we do involves managing an organization’s reputation. For the most part, the more media attention your organization receives, the more your stakeholders will recognize you. But today, visibility isn’t enough. It’s the content of news stories that determines whether your audiences will have a favorable impression of you. 

So how do you know whether the content was good or bad? And what do you do with that information? Having someone on your team who can conduct in-depth analyses of your media coverage, including the tone of the stories — whether they are positive, neutral, or negative — on a regular basis will significantly improve your communications strategy, support your overall business goals, and your reputation. 

This type of analysis helps you to not only measure the success of your public-relations initiatives, but also provide well-informed advice for real-time decisions that the organization is making. 

Both the quantity and quality of media coverage for your organization directly correlate to how much the public trusts, likes, and supports you. That coverage even determines the characteristics that are associated with your organization as opinions are formed. 

So remember, a large amount of media clips doesn’t mean a positive reputation. Ask yourself if your messages are truly getting across to your audiences. Make sure you know which reporters lead the conversations in your industry, and then strengthen your relationship with those individuals.

Are you being heard?       

Crystal DeStefano is president and director of public relations at Strategic Communications, LLC, which says it provides trusted counsel for public relations, including media relations, employee relations, and community relations. Contact DeStefano at Crystal@stratcomllc.com