The real purpose of a press release
If you are still relying on press releases to get you media attention you are doing it the old way. Press releases these days serve two purposes 1) To simply give the media factual information about an event or some news about you 2) To increase your SEO online. It rarely is the only thing to get you covered in the news these days and often gets thrown out by reporters. So how do you use them properly to get you the coverage you need?
Good, complicated question. You must use a press release as part of your media arsenal, but not as your only weapon. Your arsenal should actually include:
* A Press release - One quick, simple page of facts and an attention grabbing paragraph that is actually worthy of news coverage. (This should be crafted to the specific news outlet you are sending it to.)
* Twitter messages (Not on Twitter yet? Get on there, this is the future of news dissemination) - Twitter is the place to tell your followers what you are up to - and a good PR person will have an army of reporters as followers to spread the news for you.
* Facebook - Gain friends and fans and then send out messages about what you are up to, events you are holding, friends you’d like to have, specials, sales, whatever. You don’t need the media to cover you when you’ve got a target audience of devoted fans here.
* Online wires - The future of news is online, online, online. You should send your press release online - especially if you plan on establishing yourself on a national or international level. Watch out, though wire services can get very expensive. Most of the ones who say they are free aren’t really. But also keep in mind that you get what you pay for here. Having a good PR person can help you navigate this area better and save you money in the long run.
* Blogs, Vlogs and other citizen journalist sites - Find places your target audience goes, blogs with high traffic volume that hits the people that tend to buy from you. Get these writers to write about you with a simple email. Bloggers tend to not respond very well to formal press releases so introduce yourself, make comments and become their friend. It may also help if you throw them a couple bucks in advertising. Not everyone recommends this but it may make it easier to get them to mention you.
* Online publications - like I said before and cannot mention enough, the future of news is all online. Even 80% of the current broadcast news force gets their news mainly from online sources. Sending an email announcement to the online editors will definitely help your chances of coverage with them and traditional media, too.
Need help with some creative messaging, writing a press release, planning an event or putting together a good pr campaign? Just call 801-864-1830
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