“We have issued you a fine of £10,000.”
Words that nobody wants to hear, but sadly this happens. Let’s find out how and why business owners are being issued hefty fines for incorrectly sharing coverage and how you can share your coverage legally.
So, you’ve secured coverage in your favourite magazine or newspaper (yay!) and you’re starting to see those gorgeous pieces of press coming through, cheers to you!
When you see your biz in any publication, it makes you want to do a happy dance, naturally. I still feel like this when my clients get coverage after more than a decade of doing PR!
But it doesn’t stop here - media coverage is hard-earned, and is a vital part of any successful brand’s growth plan, so we want to make those wins work super hard for you by sharing them far and wide across your channels.
WAIT JUST A MINUTE!
Before you start posting screenshots or photographs everywhere you can think of , it’s important to understand the different ways you can shout about your success without breaking any copyright laws.
Let’s dive in...
Laws and licenses
We all want to share our press coverage, but did you know there are laws and restrictions around multiple publications which, if you get it wrong, can result in hefty fines? Like that one I mentioned at the start; the type that could break a small business?
I don’t say this to scare you, just to ensure you are completely armed with all the knowledge I can share to help you sing your successes from the rooftops safely!
First thing to know is that in the UK there are two licensing bodies - the NLA (news licensing association) and the CLA (copyright licensing agency). These two organisations manage the licenses for the vast majority of media publications in the UK.
It’s a bit of a minefield, particularly with digital coverage - these bodies have NOT kept up with modern media! - and to make it better, a lot of journalists don’t even know about these organisations. So, by reading this, you are already getting ahead of the game.
A big thing to be aware of, is that it’s not enough to have permission to share from the journalist writing a piece you’re featured in as they might not even realise the legalities around sharing coverage.
In essence, without a license bought from one or both of these bodies (which are pricey!), as a business you cannot legally share images, screenshots or excerpts of articles that they monitor anywhere. This includes headlines and teaser images (those ones that pop up underneath your text when you pop a link on your social posts).
Another thing to keep in mind is that the lines are blurred for personal social media accounts; I’d always recommend erring on the side of caution if your personal accounts are public and can be tied to your business.
Without a license, the only way to be able to share is to get written permission from the owner of the publishing house - extreme right? This can take a long time and a lot of effort - plus you may not even get an answer, preventing you from using those fab features to boost your biz and build that know, like and trust we’re aiming for.
“So, how can I share my coverage legally?”
Getting the coverage is the first ingredient in the potion pot of amazing PR, now we need to sprinkle that glitter far and wide, and there are ways, I promise.
The first thing you can do is check to see whether somewhere you have been featured falls under the eyes of the NLA or CLA on their websites:
If not, chances are you can share links, screenshots etc… yay! It’s still polite to get the journalist’s permission and use it as an excuse to thank them for featuring you - also a great opportunity to build that relationship for the next time.
Some smaller, more niche media outlets are self-published and run by the founder, In The Country magazine, for example. So as long as you get permission from them, you should be all good to shout and share, loud and proud, they’ll probably thank you for it!
Let’s look at the channels that we can use to share our coverage, boost our brand and increase our credibility:
Website
Blog
Social media
Mailing list/ enews
We can absolutely use ALL of these channels, we’re just going to get clever with how!
To help you on your way to media magic, I’ve put together a FREE checklist filled with ideas of where to share your results, for you to use and refer to every single time you get featured in the press.
Download your copy here.
Parting thoughts…
The impartial recommendation of the media is incredibly powerful to build the know, like and trust, boosting our brand awareness and creating those hot leads wanting to buy from us.
Please don’t be put off of sharing your results; getting coverage is no easy thing especially in today’s challenging landscape, so you should be super proud of every single piece you achieve and shout about it loud and proud.
If you use these guidelines you can stay on the right side of the law, be able to use your hard work and amazing results to boost your brand and step into your next level of success.
*A final disclaimer from me, this information is all correct at the time of writing However, things can change (hopefully for the better where digital coverage is concerned!) so it pays to keep up to date. I will always share anything new I find out or hear about on my social channels, enews and blog so feel free to keep checking in , sign up to my newsletter or follow me on Instagram @garnetpruk.
Let’s get sharing!