In PR, the saying ‘put your money where your mouth is’ holds true as practitioners need to ensure that the work they’re doing for their clients is enough to boost their brand’s image, reputation and credibility.

It can be difficult to prove that the press coverage you are writing for a brand is actually worth it, and although there are reviews and word-of-mouth support from other clientele, sometimes you need to show them what you’re made of — and one way to do exactly that is with a media coverage report.

Here, the team at Newsclip provide three reasons why PR practitioners need to showcase their media coverage:

1. Media coverage reports allow you to prove your ROI

Proving your efforts to clients is pretty standard as PR pro, and in pretty much every other industry too. You need to show them why your services are worth the money, and this can easily be done by proving your ROI via media coverage reports.

Utilising a tool like RedBook’s ‘Statistical Reports’ allows you to compare your client’s data from one period to another.

This allows them to see exactly where their money's going, especially once they get a clear idea of the numbers and what they represent.

You can even download the report and send it on to colleagues or the client themselves to give them a more ‘hands-on’ experience. Once you’ve given your presentation, they can keep the stats that were showcased in order to refer to at a later stage.

2. They let your clients see why your services are needed

Once your client sees a list of the media coverage about their brand in these reports, and the way it’s compiled in a neat display, they’ll realise how truly valuable your services are.

Seeing everything laid out in a clean cut format, such as in RedBook’s digital ebook, will also let them gain insight into their strategy, as they’ll see where something went wrong, what needs to be changed and what they should keep doing.

For example, your client could spot an image that doesn’t actually look as great as they thought it would in their press release; or maybe it’s the verbiage used that’s making them take a second guess at their PR strategy.

Being able to see their full coverage will allow your clients to spot the pros and cons of their PR efforts, allowing them to plan for the future.

3. You can spot keyword themes and trends

One of the great benefits of the ‘Statistical Reports’ feature is that it allows your clients to view any keyword themes and trends in their media coverage. This means that you’ll be able to see which keywords to make use of, or to continue to make use of, in PR campaigns, as well as any trends that can be utilised for your next strategy.

For example, if your client is a non-profit organisation that makes blankets for homeless pets and shelters, and there is a keyword theme and / or hashtag surrounding ‘saving pets’, you can then include this keyword in your next PR campaign in order for it to gain optimal traction.

For more information, visit www.newsclip.co.za. You can also follow Newsclip on Facebook, Twitter or on LinkedIn.