6 Types of Content In Digital PR

Today we are breaking down the 6 common types of exposure you can get in media coverage. For each type, we are talking about:

• What they look like.
• What is valuable about them.
• What you can expect.

Features

You can get featured in subject-focused content called editorials, columns, or opinions. In this example, the subject is focused on safety while riding. But how do you stay safe while riding? This is where they’ll feature your company. 

What’s valuable about features, is it’s often a third-party endorsement of your product. You don’t control their opinion so if you make a great product, a great feature is what you should expect. 

You can also expect at least one competitor mentioned in the article. This is because it’s a way journalists bring more content to the subject matter. The best featured article has a positive sentiment toward your brand, doesn’t mention a competitor, and has links to your product and website.

Product Reviews

Product reviews are similar to features but the subject is you. We bucket how-to, tutorials, and guides in this category because the content is the same. 

They tend to be more valuable than features because they get deeper into your product and focus only on you. This CNET review gets deep into the Purple Mattress product. As you can see there’s only a very short section on competitors. This particular article gets deep into the fit, feel and finish - everything you need to know to buy.

Like a feature, the best review is an endorsement of your product and a positive sentiment toward your brand. Keep in mind that if you sell a very low-quality product, the reviewer will let the audience know.

Profiles

Profiles and deep dives are similar to product reviews except they aren’t talking about your product, they’re talking about you or your product. They most often occur when a notable company event occurs like raising capital or launching a new product. 

Due to the depth of the content, interviews and questionnaires are often required for this. While these can be valuable for your personal brand and company brand. They don't often speak to the majority of your customers. 

Listicles

Listicles are lists of products a media outlet endorses. You often see these near the holidays in the form of gift guides. Alternatively, you see articles with headlines like “7 Best Headphones for Under $150”. 

You can expect a few paragraphs that summarize the list and less than 3 sentences about your product. It’s a great way to drive sales during the holiday season, or any other time considering how often these get published. 

No media outlet is immune to promoting this type of content. It often helps them rank higher in search engines. Additionally, they are often incentivized through affiliate marketing. Nothing to be wary of here, just sales. 

Current events

The focus of current events or news is on the industry, technology, market, event, or a change in the status quo. Most of all media produced fits in this category so one sentence doesn’t capture it. The most relevant focus for eCommerce Brands is industry events.

Industry events like CES, AIMExpo, and Adworld are a few examples of 100s of events that happen every year. Content is often about the companies attending, and the product launches happening. Getting media coverage here will read like a news headline or update. 

This means it’s less likely to link to your website or go very in-depth about your product. We’ve developed a counterintuitive media angle for when there is a big industry event and you aren’t able to go. We’ve had a bunch of success with it but you’ll have to book a call to find out how it works. 

Quotes

Journalists, reporters, writers, and editors, often need sources. This means that they want a quote or mention about a topic from someone with credibility on the subject. Business leaders and managers are often the people they turn to. 

In this example, the marketing director gets quoted on the state of the industry and a link to their winery. Quotes or mentions tend to be the least impactful out of all types of content. This is because they speak to the wrong audience about an unrelated subject. In this case, wine tasting connoisseurs are unlikely to fall in love with this brand by reading an article about the financial markets of wine.