A creator can deliver every asset on the brief, smash performance benchmarks, spark lively comment threads, and still leave your PR team holding an empty hand.

That doesn’t mean the engagement was a bust. It simply means earned media was treated as a hopeful afterthought rather than built into the foundation of the work. We have all sat in that planning room where someone invariably asks right before wrap-up: “Can we get some press out of this?”

That question needs to be in the room on day one.

If earned media is truly part of the remit, an influencer strategy cannot begin and end with message delivery. It has to focus on narrative substance. That means looking for voices who can help uncover an untold story, bring genuine lived experience to an issue, or frame a conversation so compellingly that editors actually want to dig in. The goal is never just paying an influential voice to champion a logo. It is crafting something that holds its own weight long after the sponsored post scrolls off the screen.

Start with the Story, Not the Shortlist

Before anyone opens a spreadsheet of follower counts or starts horse-trading over deliverable tiers, pause and ask a fundamental question: What makes this interesting to someone who has never heard of the brand and does not follow the creator?

A splashy partnership announcement might occasionally make the rounds, but staking an earned media plan on a signature on a contract is a gamble at best.

A far sturdier foundation is an authentic audience friction point, an unexpected industry shift, or a tangible cultural insight that warrants a closer look. The creator’s role is to sharpen that narrative, not serve as a proxy for the lack of one.

Look at the editorial landscape. In Cision’s survey of more than 3,000 journalists globally, 86% noted they instantly pass on pitches that do not directly serve their beat or readership. A verified handle does not magically create relevance.

Here is a simple test before locking the brief: write the dream headline without using “partners with,” “teams up with,” or “taps creator.”

Strip those away. What is left?

If the story collapses without the transaction, you have an ad, not an editorial hook. That distinction separates what a brand wants to announce from what an audience will voluntarily read.

Choose Someone Who Adds Substance, Not Just Footprint

When earned coverage is on the table, vetting creators solely by reach is an easy trap. The real calculation is what they bring to the table as a subject-matter voice.

Can they break down a nuanced operational headache? Do they possess deep, credible roots in the discipline? Could an editor interview them about the broader industry landscape without them constantly glancing down at brand-approved talking points?

This is where public relations and creator strategy need to align. Organizations like PRSA have consistently pointed out that creators bring the most enduring communications value when treated as long-form storytellers, subject sources, and dynamic event speakers. Their contribution does not need to expire after a 24-hour story cycle.

Consider the contrast between paying someone to say a piece of software saved their workday versus partnering with a seasoned operator who can articulate the systemic inefficiencies plaguing their trade. The former provides an endorsement. The latter gives a reporter a credible source, a compelling human case study, and an actual reason to investigate.

That changes how we vet. Brand affinity and safety screenings are non-negotiable baselines, but we also have to evaluate whether a partner’s background withstands scrutiny. Being charismatic on camera does not make someone an authority. Credibility requires expertise, an intuitive feel for audience dynamics, and the poise to handle nuanced conversations.

Build Something an Editor Can Actually Use

Consider a B2B platform partnering with a creator who owns and runs an independent neighborhood restaurant.

A standard marketing brief asks for a slick walkthrough showing the owner balancing books on an iPad before dinner service. That is fine for a paid social campaign.

An earned-media brief pushes deeper: What does this person’s day-to-day reveal about the invisible labor required to keep a local establishment solvent?

Imagine the restaurateur chronicles the administrative grind that starts after the kitchen lights go down at midnight. The brand commissions a robust, methodologically sound study surveying independent operators on that exact administrative burden. The creator provides the tangible, human perspective; the research establishes the broader macro trend.

Suddenly, an editor has a legitimate story about the unvarnished realities of the small-business economy, backed by credible data, an articulate interview subject, and compelling visuals.

The brand has an authentic, defensible place in the conversation, but it does not need to force its way into every paragraph to make the effort worthwhile.

A word of caution on rigor: a handful of passionate comments on a sponsored post do not constitute an empirical trend. Anecdotes spark curiosity, but they are not representative data. Methodologies and funding must be transparent, and findings should never be massaged to fit a talking point.

Furthermore, the mechanics must be buttoned up before pitching begins. That means confirmed interview availability, clear photo assets, and transparent commercial disclosures. An editor’s interest evaporates fast if basic access requires a week of approvals. Make the story frictionless to report, not just easy to share.

And let’s be unequivocal about labels: a paid partnership does not transform into earned media simply because the aesthetic feels candid. Earned media is coverage an editor chooses to assign on editorial merit. Full stop. A creator can serve as an articulate expert, but they cannot be positioned as an unattached bystander, and regulatory guidelines on commercial disclosures must be ironclad. The integrity of the program relies on total transparency.

Measure the Outcomes Beyond the Feed

When earned visibility is an explicit campaign goal, evaluating the work requires distinct scorecards for creator metrics and PR outcomes.

Engagement rates, reach, and video completion rates assess content resonance. For earned outcomes, the lens must shift to where the story landed, who read it, and whether the strategic context was preserved.

Returning to the restaurant example: the benchmark for earned success is not the creator’s view count. It is whether coverage in a respected industry trade reached actual operators, prompted meaningful site traffic, or sparked conversations around the core business challenge. A passing mention in an advertising trade about a “creative activation” is a vastly different and far less durable outcome than an in-depth feature in a business publication examining the problem you set out to solve.

Look at the downstream impact: Did the piece bring qualified traffic? Did it drive informed inbound interest? Did it shift the way prospective clients understand the operational challenge?

This mindset mirrors AMEC’s framework for outcome-based measurement. The objective is to understand whether the narrative moved the needle on a real priority, rather than cataloging vanity metrics and declaring victory.

Give the Work Room to Travel

Earned media can never be promised as a guaranteed rider on an influencer agreement. But what we can do as strategists is build the work so thoughtfully that the story commands attention on its own terms.

Bring communications into the room early. Choose partners who contribute hard-earned perspective. Back claims with research that holds up to scrutiny. Give reporters unfettered access to articulate voices without trying to dictate the resulting column inches.

The sponsored post is simply the asset you bought. The earned media is the enduring narrative you built around it. When designed with intention, a partnership doesn’t have to choose between driving immediate brand visibility and contributing something substantive to the broader industry dialogue. It can easily do both.

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By Ana Cahuas

So, you’re planning an event and want to get the word out. How do you attract the right media and influencers? It helps to understand how they work and plan your event in a way that makes it easy for them to engage. They’re busy and getting invited to everything, so a thoughtful approach can go a long way in helping your event stand out and get RSVPs.

Here are six tips to make the most of your media invites:

  1. Create something worth showing up for

As you’re planning, think about makes your event fresh, relevant, and engaging for media and influencers. Is there a unique angle, a strong story, or an experience you can’t find elsewhere? Media are always looking for new and interesting opportunities, so taking the time to shape something distinctive upfront can make a big difference in both attendance and coverage.

  1. Make it easy for media to say yes
    Flexibility goes a long way. Instead of a single, rigid time, think about offering a window. This could look like an open house, multiple time slots, or even an ongoing event series. Later-week afternoons tend to be safer bets, and options always make it easier to fit into busy schedules.
  1. Know exactly why you’re hosting the event
    Before you think about the guest list, get clear on your goal. Is this about awareness? A launch? Relationship-building? That clarity will guide everything from who you invite, to how many, to what the experience actually looks and feels like. More often than not, quality over quantity wins when it comes to invitations. 
  1. Have a plan for the “can’t make it” crowd
    Life happens. Even people who are interested will have conflicts or have to cancel last-minute. Don’t let that be the end of the interaction. Think ahead about how you can still bring them into the story, whether that’s curating a thoughtful PR kit, offering a separate visit, or creating another touchpoint tied to the same moment.
  1. Timing matters
    Three weeks out is a good rule of thumb for sending initial invites. It gives people time to plan and you have room to follow up. We recommend two follow-ups maximum (invite, reminder, final nudge). 
  1. Focus on building real relationships

Events are a great opportunity to connect in person and build genuine relationships with media and influencers. Instead of focusing on coverage, think about how you can create a thoughtful, memorable experience and continue the conversation afterward. A simple follow-up, a thank you, or another touchpoint down the line can go a long way and often leads to more natural, ongoing opportunities to work together. 

If you’re exploring event formats, we’ve written about hosting a successful pop-up. Want help planning your next brand event? Contact us!

By: Doug Cipriani

Media relations is a dynamic skill with variables galore, making it easy to fall into the transactional rhythm of sending a pitch, securing a desired piece of coverage and moving onto the next. However, the strongest relationships with reporters aren’t built in the transactional moments – they’re built in the space in between those moments. That’s where the “friendly check in” comes into play.

Relationships Over Pitches

How you show up when you don’t need something from someone often matters more than how you show up when you do need something. This is true in personal relationships, and the same principle applies to media relations. Too often, media outreach is tied directly to an ask, whether it be a pitch, follow up or product sample offer. Once coverage lands, the conversation stops and the silence resets the relationship to start from scratch next time you reach out.

The friendly check in changes this ineffective cycle. It’s about expanding your outreach to go beyond pitching a specific angle or story to a reporter and instead reaching out without an underlying agenda. You don’t try to disguise your outreach as a non-pitch, it’s not “circling back” without any substance or sending frequent follow ups. Instead, you’re:

  • Keeping it authentic to build relationships that are larger than landing a story for your client.
  • Checking in to see how they’re doing, staying in touch on their life updates and working to build an authentic personal relationship.
  • Mitigating silence once coverage runs to not let space grow for the relationship to reset.
  • Filling the whitespace between story opportunities with intentional dialogue.
  • Avoiding the transactional nature by not contacting each other only when you want something.
  • Taking the time to build mutually beneficial relationships.

The Value Proposition

Focusing on building valuable relationships doesn’t just make interactions less transactional – it makes them mutual. Your outreach and conversations with media move from self-serving with the intention of landing coverage, to two-sided as you work to build a personal relationship. When you’re communicating with and without asks, the value then flows both ways. You’ll go to reporters with story ideas and they’ll come to you with source or product requests because you understand each other’s constraints and goals beyond a singular pitch.

When you consistently show up without an undercover agenda, you’re showing reporters that you see them as a person outside of the publication they write for. In their eyes, you become someone who understands their work, respects their time and values the relationship itself, not just the outcome.

Over time, this will lead to your email breaking through the noise of a reporter’s busy inbox. Your message will be one they actually open when they see the familiar name. The relationship you’ve built will create more responsive communication and will garner honest feedback on your ideas because you put in the work to bring it to that point.

Doing It the Right Way

Authentic relationship building doesn’t have to be complicated, but we suggest a few techniques to make it successful. The overarching key is identifying relevant yet natural moments to reach out. These touchpoints can be things like congratulating them on a new role or topic they’re covering, acknowledging a personal milestone, like moving or getting a new pet, or sharing your thoughts on one of their recent stories. Across all these moments, you’re including elements of timeliness, thoughtfulness and intention. The outreach isn’t disguised as a pitch, it’s a true touchpoint for connection.

To identify these moments, it takes a bit of proactive effort. Keep a pulse on target reporters’ social media channels and recent coverage feeds, looking for topics that make sense to connect on. Maybe you had a similar experience or advice to share for something they posted about on Instagram, or you particularly relate to one of their recent articles – reach out. To make this process more manageable, a personal tracker is key. Develop a master document for yourself that includes things like their contact information, notes from recent conversations and their personal interest or milestones you identify. Taking a few minutes each week to update this will make it easier to personalize your outreach and pick up conversations naturally over time.

When you’re having conversations with media, avoid coming across as scripted or overly formal. Your writing should take a conversational tone – you should ask questions and let your personality shine through. This will make you memorable and help the reporter feel that they’re talking to a real person behind the message, not just another PR contact they’re getting a mass blast from.

One of the most essential, and most difficult, parts of this approach is consistency. These relationships aren’t built with one email or one conversation – they take time, so carving out space in the week to do this is crucial. This can be as simple as taking 30 minutes on a Friday to review your key contacts social media profiles and recent coverage, responding to open conversations and updating your tracker with context for future reference. It’s easy to push this to the bottom of a busy to-do list, but investing the time here pays off in the long run.

This is a simple concept but extremely powerful in impact. Relationships go far, especially when properly nurtured. Taking the time to move from chasing coverage to building coverage makes all the difference. Interested in how strategic media relations can support your business? Reach out to the Double Forte team for more information.