How to Use the PESO Model™ for B2B Success

The Global Communications Study from the Annenberg Center for Public Relations at USC found that 38% of communicators use earned media and 28% use owned media. Only 16% use paid media, and 18% use shared media. Neither one hit the 20 percent mark for paid and shared media.

In a B2B world where marketing and communications need to be driving pipeline and sales as much as any other department, these statistics are not good.

A successful communications program, one that drives leads, requires an integrated PESO Model™ framework. If less than a quarter are using paid and shared and less than half are using owned and earned, the programs they execute will not get you the results you need.

If you need help understanding how your communications team can drive MQLs, SQLs, and pipeline, read on.

What Is the PESO Model™?

The PESO Model™ takes the four media types—paid, earned, shared and owned—and merges them together.

• Paid Media. Paid media, in this case, doesn’t refer to big, fancy commercials and highly creative print ads. On the contrary, paid media for a communications program is social media advertising, sponsored content, and email marketing. Think Instagram ads, LinkedIn ads, and Outbrain for content amplification.
• Earned Media. Earned media is what you know as either publicity or media relations. It’s getting your name in print. Having a newspaper or trade publication write about you. Appearing on the noon news to talk about your product. It’s what the PR industry is typically known for because it’s one of the few tangible things we do. The ancillary benefit of earned media in today’s digital world is search engine optimization.
• Shared Media. Shared media is what you know as social media. It’s evolving as well and continues to build beyond just marketing or customer service teams using it. Organizations have begun to use it as their main source of communications internally and externally. This is curated content, LinkedIn Live, and Instagram Stories. It’s putting the social back in social media by creating engagement and community.
• Owned Media. Owned media is what you know as content. It is something you own, and it lives on your website or blog. You control the messaging and tell the story in a way you want it told. This is not hosting your content on Medium or LinkedIn. It’s owning your content and the platform it lives on. You can use those platforms as outlets, but the reason it’s called “owned” is because you own it and are not renting it to anyone.

When you integrate the four media types, you may find you also have influencer engagement, partnerships, and incentive programs that extend beyond your internal walls. And when the PESO Model™ is working at its best, it can help you establish authority.

Authority leads to thought leadership. Thought leadership leads to credibility and expertise. Others see you as an expert … even your competitors. And Google links to you on the first page of results because it also sees you as an expert.

If you have enough authority that both Google and your competitors see you as the expert, you win the human and the SEO games.

This is the golden ticket.

Start with Owned Media

To integrate the PESO Model™ into your business to drive leads, remember that all roads lead to owned media—so start there. This is where you control the messaging, the anchor text, the links, the distribution, the story, and the audiences.

Without owned media, all of your paid, earned, and shared efforts are moot. That said, your owned media efforts have to be smart, strategic, unique enough to rise to the top and provide value to your prospective and current customers.

Use Shared Media for Distribution and Promotion

This is where your social networks come into play. It’s not one size fits all, but there are some best practices for every platform to help you get started. It’s important to tweak your approach, test, rinse, and repeat.

You don’t have to be on all of these platforms, but wherever you have a presence, do it right.

Paid Media is About Your Funnel

Paid media is exactly what it sounds like: you pay to reach new audiences. For as little €5 a day on each platform, you can test Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter. They each have their own native advertising options, and they usually offer coupons for first timers.

Earned Media Is Last

The last piece of the PESO Model™ is earned media, which cannot happen without the help of the rest of the PESO Model.

As your team is identifying potential journalists, media outlets, and influencers, evaluate them on these factors: direct influence on customer, reach or circulation, and ability to drive leads.

These relationships take time, trust, and due diligence, so earned media may not give you immediate results—which is why it should be just one part of your PR strategy.

The PESO Model™ Drives PR Success

The PESO Model™ is a strategy to drive PR success using integrated marketing. It is not one size fits all, and the right ingredients will vary for each campaign.

Start by creating strong content and use the PESO Model™ to distribute it to reach new levels of success.