The C-suite is more interested than ever in seeking the counsel of their PR teams. According to the 2025 Cision-PRWeek Comms Report, 84% of PR professionals surveyed reported this increased demand for their expertise. This growing reliance on PR professionals demonstrates the emphasis C-suites are placing on PR as a strategic driver of business growth and reputation management.
The main goal of this article is to help you understand the important role PR plays in your business, and best practices for securing coverage.
PR’s Role in the Mortgage and Real Estate Industries
Public relations has evolved substantially over the past several years. It’s much more than a press release or getting coverage for you or your company in MortgagePoint, HousingWire, National Mortgage News, MBA Newslink, Inman or any other key industry publication. PR encompasses a variety of activities that promote your thought leadership, brand visibility, and connection with the mortgage and real estate industries. These activities, which should be a part of an overall strategy, include media relations, reputation management, thought leadership, content development, storytelling, social media, public speaking, event planning, community relations, and investor relations.
Many of the PR activities I shared could appear to overlap with marketing. But while both marketing and PR contribute to brand visibility and business growth, they serve distinctly different functions:
Earning media trust is particularly important in the mortgage industry, especially in uncertain economic times with rising rates, market shifts, and even regulatory shifts. In today’s housing market, trust is a key differentiator. PR can humanize your brand and position you as an expert who provides stability and reliable guidance. When you are a trusted source of information, you can be tapped for commentary as news happens or even be featured in an industry publication or podcast. This goes a long way to not only further establish you as a reliable, credible resource, but also as an industry leader. When things happen, people are looking for credible information to help them navigate the shifting landscape.
There are great benefits of a strong PR presence for you and your company. The credibility and trust it builds can help you a great deal in terms of lead generation and recruiting. People like to work with and do business with companies they feel like they know and trust. From a recruiting perspective, top performers want to know that they are working with a company that demonstrates leadership and will therefore support their career growth.
How to Secure Media Coverage: Key Messages, Good Stories, and Solid Relationships
Before you start any media relations activities, make sure you have strong key messages in place that you wish to communicate to your target audience about your company and your offering. Your key messages serve as the basis for all of your communications activities, not just media relations. Your key messages should be centered on the top reasons people should do business with you and what sets you apart from your competitors.
When we assist company leaders with developing these messages, we frequently start by helping them through a discovery process that identifies the core of why they do what they do and why they believe they will win in the marketplace and then we build the messages from there. The importance of this exercise is to ensure that you are communicating authentically about who you are, why you exist and what makes you different in a compelling way. If you need help with developing your key messages, feel free to reach out to our team for a consultation.
One thing that all people love to hear is a good story that naturally incorporates your key messages. Storytelling is especially impactful when you’re vying for media coverage because the media understands that value. It drives interest, clicks, further engagement, and holds an audience’s attention. The great thing is that there is always a story to tell, whether it’s about your company, why you believe what you believe or do what you do, or why you updated your technology or developed something new. A good story is easy to remember and builds a relationship with your audience.
In order to get your story and key messages out there, you’ll need to establish good relationships with the right industry journalists. You need to demonstrate to them that you are a trusted source of information. If you’re newer to the industry, the first step is to determine who the reporters are that specialize in mortgage, real estate and finance. You can use tools like Muck Rack and Cision to uncover who they are. Then research their past articles to understand what their interests are and their style. Comment on them thoughtfully, share them and follow them on LinkedIn and other social platforms.
Reporters are always looking for compelling, timely content. So just make sure your pitches are concise, align with what they cover and pass the “who cares” test. Providing exclusive insights, anything backed by data, or a unique analysis will help you build those relationships and differentiate you from many that are trying to get coverage just for the sake of coverage with little thought about what the audience truly cares about. Position your CEO, executives and subject matter experts as thought leaders with reporters who can provide expert commentary. Also, make yourself easily accessible for interviews on short notice.
The biggest benefits PR provides to companies in the mortgage and real estate industries include thought leadership and brand visibility, which go a long way to establish trust with your audience. Trust, we know, is a key ingredient needed for building a business. Therefore, a strong, thoughtful PR strategy can have a substantial impact on your business.
If you need help with establishing your PR strategy and ensuring proper integration with your marketing, reach out to our team for a consultation.