What Is the PESO Model & How to Use It Effectively in PR

peso model

Evolving from public relations studies, the PESO model is an effective strategy to take your marketing game to the next level. Regardless of your expertise, this marketing stunt allows you to cover all aspects you should professionally handle.

The PESO model is a strategic framework that guides public relations (PR) professionals in integrating different communication channels to maximize their impact and reach. It stands for Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned media. PR practitioners can develop comprehensive and cohesive PR campaigns by understanding and effectively utilizing the PESO model. 

Let’s dive deep into the details of PESO public relations without any further ado. 

What does PESO Model stand for?

PESO is the abbreviated form of “paid,” “earned,” “shared,” and “owned” forms of media. We will break down these four categories to make them easier to understand. 

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  • Paid media refers to promotion through social media, sponsorships, and email promotions. People might confuse paid media with commercials and billboard advertising. However, it is far from that. 
  • Earned media: earned media is referred to as publicity tactics. Earned media can get your brand on the news and headlines to increase media relations. Promoting products through any form of mass communication can fall under this category.
  • Shared media: shared media can be called spreading the word through social media. A particular brand can use this for distribution, promotion, or enhancing customer service and feedback. 
  • Owned media: owned media is referred to as owned content that the brand can only use. Websites and blog content can be the best examples of owned media. 

Hence, merging these categories into a single PR strategy covers all the essential elements of top-level marketing. The PESO model helps an individual to create new expertise in untouched fields of PR & marketing.

 How to get going with the PESO model?

Every company department should synchronize the PESO model to work for your brand. You and your agency must set a common goal for PESO to help your brand build an image. Secondly, you have to be open to change. Introducing new strategies and plans can do wonders if you can fit them into your normal work process. 

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PESO also hugely depends on content creation. The entire PR strategy of a brand relies on the kind of content being made and distributed. Now, content doesn’t only have to be written or visual. Auditory content also plays a significant role in highlighting the brand. Any content that can pique the audience’s interest is good for the brand. 

Things can get easier if your editorial team can create an editorial calendar. It helps keep content progress in check and brings responsibility and accountability. Furthermore, planned schedules can also help plan the continuity of the content. For instance, if a blog article has been abandoned for too long, the team can decide to cancel any further progress. 

How to apply the PESO model in PR & marketing?

You can apply the PESO model in PR & marketing by:

Integrating paid media

As mentioned earlier, the PESO PR model should include the widespread use of social media. As much as you don’t want to invest a big budget, a few dollars won’t hurt. The best part is that every social media platform lets the user have a pocket-friendly plan for sponsorships on the platform itself. 

paid media

The paid promotion could be in the form of a Facebook post or a public tweet. Apps like LinkedIn also give free promotional coupons to users who advertise their brand solely through social media. Such offers can be hard to find. Hence, you should consider using these to your advantage. 

Integrating earned media

Now, you can’t initially do word of mouth by paying. To increase the brand’s publicity, you have to let people review your brand. Especially people like influencers. Hence, building public relations becomes a big part of the PESO PR model.

earned media

Start listing down influences and social media personalities who create content related to your brand to hit it off. You can consider sending samples to renowned food bloggers if your brand deals with food products. These strategies can gel you build a brand image as well. 

Creating tags related to your niche is also an excellent way to gain media visibility. It helps to increase knowledge of your service or product. Moreover, your goal is to implement your brand rather than the significance of being an influencer. Hence, gaining media visibility should be a top priority.

 Integrating shared media

Nothing can beat the audience reach of social media. Not even a fancy TV commercial. People of every generation are invested in social media. Hence, investing time and money in social media promotion is critical. 

shared media

Apps like Facebook and Instagram have varying algorithms, and it will be your team’s job to determine the best strategy to stay put with these algorithms. Moreover, strategies that will work for Instagram might not work for Facebook. Analyzing the importance of every post and story is as necessary as listing trending hashtags. 

As mentioned earlier, different age groups use different platforms. So, determining the target audience is an essential factor in promotion. You cannot expect much sales from Facebook if your target audience is mainly on TikTok or Instagram. 

Integrating owned media

What’s the first thing your audience will see when they reach out to your brand? The answer to that would be your content. Owned content can probably be considered a trademark for your brand. Everything published or posted gives the audience an insight into your brand.

owned media

Blog content or website content is an integral part of your owned content. It should be welcoming to the audience reading or seeing through it. As a part of your copyright, everything is a personification of your brand. Hence, the audience will be more intrigued by these elements. 

Owned content can also be beneficial in recognizing your audience. With websites, it is easy to keep track of your website visitors, and you can understand the timings of media visibility. Hence, you can obtain all the technical aspects contributing to your website. 

Social Media and its effect on the PESO Model 

Social media offered a new distribution strategy as prospects and clients became their own media brands, sharing and posting content on social networks. These content producers find it more challenging to integrate into the Paid-Earned-Owned model.

The distinction between journalism and advertising became hazier as publishers sought new methods to monetize their media businesses. Advertorials gave way to sponsored content, and publishing companies developed branded content teams. Hence, the emergence of business trends with the help of social media has vastly affected the PR and marketing field, making it easier to reach many people.

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However, the shared quadrant of the marketing PESO is becoming more challenging to manage due to all the algorithmic changes in various platforms. Some even contend that shared is giving way to more paid as social media becomes more and more pay-to-play for marketers. You boost posts or buy advertisements nowadays to be seen on social media. 

Value of media visibility under PESO marketing

Under the PESO paradigm, media presence can assist the client and agency in proving the worth of communications initiatives. Using metrics like share of voice and statistics like click-through rates, opt-ins, and media equivalencies, you can demonstrate the value of exposure, whether it is paid, earned, shared, or owned.

FAQs

Who Introduced the Concept of the PESO Model?

Gini Dietrich launched the PESO model in 2014, providing the PR profession with a name and an infographic to rally around. Today, to provide outcomes for customers, the majority of PR firms work inside at least three aspects, if not working with all four aspects.

Why is the PESO Model Essential for PR?

Through PESO's marketing strategies, communication activities can be seen in a more integrated pattern. The model covers all the aspects of covering media and distributing the correct information at the right time.

How is the PESO Model Related to Public Relations?

Publicity is the most significant aspect of the PESO model. A brand is being set out in the public view through earned media, which is essential for setting up a late group of audience who could be potential customers.

What is the Primary Benefit of Implementing the PESO Marketing Model?

PESO's marketing tact allows us to examine our efforts using any of these four media (paid, earned, shared, or owned) to determine whether a company can increase media visibility through any other means. This model allows firms to invest in channels that one must include in an existing marketing program.

Conclusion

The PESO model s a modern approach toward an integrated and specified strategy for enhancing a company’s PR and marketing operation. While it is a concept taken out of public relations, it hugely benefits building brand image.

Even with little expertise in advertising and promotion, one can easily do a great job at marketing with the help of PESO. Moreover, the PESO model allows companies to use diversified methods in the field of PR and accept new changes. 

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