The tricky part of PR today? It's about consistently being seen everywhere… which, as it turns out, is easier said than done. But by focusing on the right media types, the PESO model can help you stay on track.

PR is about visibility, credibility and connections across platforms and audiences. Ergo, the best PR pros know that no one tool can carry a full campaign. The PESO model offers an integrated approach to storytelling, taking your PR efforts from doing "the best you can" to "doing the most".

What Is the PESO Model?

PESO stands for paid, earned, shared and owned media. The core aspect of the model is to help integrate storytelling across multiple touchpoints. In other words, instead of your message only being seen once, it becomes consistently reinforced through different channels, building trust and visibility over time. 


Let’s break it down: 

  • Paid Media: Promotes content with ads or sponsored posts to extend its reach. This ensures your story reaches many people and fast.
  • Earned Media: This is the heart of traditional PR. It entails media coverage, reviews and mentions, which are freely given. This media type is still the strongest driver of credibility.
  • Shared Media: Engagement through social media like reposts, shares, or comments. This media helps shape public perception through your audience.
  • Owned Media: Your blog, website, podcast, etc. This media offers you full control over messaging and long-term brand voice. 

PESO's power lies in its ability to blend PR's credibility with marketing's scalability. It turns a single press release into a multi-channel campaign that gets seen, shared and remembered. PR professionals who focus their efforts on all four media types will therefore have the most effective PR strategy.

In the fast-paced media realm, the brands that win are those with an integrated voice — and the PESO model makes it all happen.

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*Image courtesy of Canva

**Information sourced from PR Lab and Forbes