Businesses need to plan now to boost earned media coverage for a successful 2026
Businesses need to plan now to boost earned media coverage for a successful 2026.
Why? Because all the signs are showing that:
1. Earned media coverage strongly influences brand visibility, trust, and reputation for both Google and AI search.
2. Audiences are choosing brands that show that use stories about real people to demonstrate empathy, impact and authenticity. People aren’t interested in abstract claims.
Strong earned media directly supports SEO and GEO ranking.
Google increasingly rewards authority, trust, and reliable, authentic storytelling.
And if you check the citations that appear in your ChatGPT searches, you’ll find that AI is pulling out trustworthy earned media content that answers the increasingly complex, long tail questions that audiences are asking.
Brands that show up in reputable local and national press are consistently performing better in searches.
Earned media builds trust
This isn’t just about backlinks.
The important thing is that earned media delivers trusted brand signals, expert mentions, local reputation, and third-party validation.
Google reads all of that as proof that you’re credible, reliable and trustworthy.
If you want a successful 2026, you need to pitch stories to local and national press that include both data and human impact stories.
Customers are choosing to buy from brands that demonstrate empathy, impact and authenticity from top to bottom. But watch out: if your values and behaviours don’t match, trust will plummet.
People trust authentic human stories
Recent trust research shows that people are drawn to organisations who tell honest, human stories that show they understand their audiences and the challenges they face.
Authentic, real, human stories build credibility and influence consumers to act. So speak to real people who can tell you their stories about the good things you do.
The businesses who communicate their impact clearly using lived experience and real outcomes will be the ones that audiences trust and come back to, time after time.
Powerful, ethical PR is essential for 2026
Powerful, ethical PR, storytelling and reputation-building aren’t going to be “nice-to-haves” in 2026.
If you aren’t being found in earned media, you’ll be out of the game.
Fresh, high quality conversational content based on human storytelling and positive mentions in earned media will be foundational to how people find you, understand you and decide whether to trust you.
Deep conversations and long-tail questions work best
My top tip? Think about the questions that your audience might ask about your industry, service or brand, and answer them. Then think about the next, deeper question, and answer that. And then go even deeper.
Think about the searches that you might put into ChatGPT. They’re probably long and detailed, to get the best possible answer and filter out information that you’re not interest in.
Speak to customers and colleagues who can answer those questions, then make them relevant to a wide audience, and pitch the resulting story to local and national media.
Pitch useful content to gain earned media coverage
Those high quality stories told in trustworthy third-party coverage will build trust and boost reputation, and help your brand show up in searches.
Expert PR consultancy support
If you don’t have the capacity or know-how to do that yourself, working with a strategic PR partner can make all the difference.
I’d love to support you if you’re ready to elevate your story, strengthen your reputation and create the momentum your work deserves.
I’ll plan and write stories that secure meaningful, credible coverage and boost your authority and reputation.
I’ll show you how to build trust through clarity, empathy, and integrity, and join the dots between earned media, brand reputation, search visibility and real-world impact.
Build trust and reputation with an expert PR consultant
If you want 2026 to be the year your organisation is seen, trusted and chosen, now is absolutely the right time to start building your reputation and earning trust.
If you’re not sure where to start, message me – a quick chat can unlock a whole new level of clarity.