Every business owner dreams of going viral or earning a splashy headline that gets attention. And while these can be great, it’s not the same thing as becoming the go-to expert that reporters call first in their industry or getting consistent good news stories to show investors and board members.
The companies with the strongest reputations – those who journalists turn to as go-to thought leaders and spokespeople for quick story comments – didn’t get there from a viral moment or a one-off press release. They earned it through consistency.
The Sprint Trap
Smart and successful public relations isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. Each campaign and PR strategy is like a single mile, working on building trust with journalists, the community, and your target audience and one step at a time. But how do you build a reputation that lasts? Through consistency, not volume.
When it comes to PR, “slow and steady wins the race.” Focusing solely on quick press hits or viral moments might increase your metrics, but they don’t build sustainable brand equity or real recognition with the journalists or customers who actually matter. The metrics don’t always add up to long-lasting stability:
- Views: A spike in impressions doesn’t mean anyone remembers who you are or what you stand for.
- Reach: Getting in front of more people isn’t the same as getting in front of the right people.
- Foot traffic: A rush of visitors from a single moment rarely translates into repeat customers or loyal clients.
- Website traffic: Clicks driven by novelty tend to bounce fast, and don’t always convert the way audiences built on trust do.
Without a lasting foundation, audience growth doesn’t stick and the customers you gain from a viral moment often leave just as quickly once your content shifts. These are not usually your people anyway, because when you’re speaking to everyone all at once, you end up speaking to no one in particular.
There’s a trust cost too. Virality without consistency reads as noise and does not necessarily provide a true identity. It blurs what your brand actually stands for instead of reinforcing it. Can you get ROI from a viral moment? Sure, but that ROI is unsustainable: it spikes, then fades, and it doesn’t compound the way a consistent, long-term reputation does.
What “The Long Game” Really Means
The long game is different; it’s about developing a reputation that attracts attention on its own. Instead of constantly chasing the next quick spike in numbers, you focus on reaching the specific people who actually care about what you do. Every piece of coverage builds directly on the last, turning short-term visibility into permanent trust. When you stop hoping for a lucky break and start building a real foundation, your reputation begins to work for you building predictable authority that lasts.
At GYC Vegas, we’ve done this for many of our clients, most notably the two-year editorial relationship we developed between Nevada Preservation Foundation (NPF) and Atomic Ranch magazine, which resulted in three print features, a co-produced live event with 200 attendees, and a sold-out festival. This didn’t happen from one placement, it happened from consistently showing up in the journalist’s inbox with relevant, well-timed story ideas, proving to Atomic Ranch that NPF was trustworthy.
Pacing Your Strategy
Don’t go into a PR strategy thinking you’ll get results or phone calls for comments right away. Remember, building a reputation through PR is a marathon, but here’s how you can pace it out:
- Build a foundation: Like a runner training for a marathon, you need to build a foundation with a steady cadence of news, content creation, and routine touchpoints to stay relevant with the media.
- Maintain a sustainable pace: Don’t put all of your energy into one massive, isolated press release with every announcement crammed in; instead, pace them out throughout the year.
- Understand the course: A smart PR strategy means knowing what’s going on around town and the course your company is going to take. Not just your announcement timing, but what competitors may be announcing or holidays that may hinder your media outreach.
- Know your audience: For each announcement, you’ll want to determine your target audience and ideal media contacts. The worst thing you can do is pitch the wrong reporter or miss your target audience entirely, forcing a last-minute pivot to try to reach the right one.
A marathon isn’t won in the first mile, and a reputation isn’t built in a single headline. The brands that last are the ones that keep showing up until the media doesn’t need convincing anymore, because you’re already the name they think of.
At GYC Vegas, we understand the value of a strong reputation. If you’re ready to build a PR strategy that goes the distance, fill out this questionnaire and let’s get you marathon ready.