Press releases (also called news releases) are a viable marketing strategy in 2021. They are written messages from you about your organization’s newsworthy events or achievements. Releases serve many purposes and can achieve a variety of benefits, ranging from immediate coverage to slow-and-steady building of relationships with the media and recognition that you are a subject matter expert.
The ABCs of press releases: They...
- Alert the media to an event and ask them to share the information with their readers, viewers or listeners.
- Build your brand by having your news published verbatim as a “staff report” or by encouraging a reporter to create an article about your news or to incorporate the information in a broader story.
- Continue to give exposure to your organization as the message gets linked, posted, liked, followed or shared on social media, possibly boosting your SERP (Search Engine Results Page) ranking.
When are news releases necessary?
Fryed Egg Productions produces and distributes client press releases to announce new products, changes in key personnel, launches of new services and businesses, facilities expansions, celebrity appearances, fundraising events, noteworthy personal/business achievements and other immediate or short-term needs or occurrences that affect or involve the community.
What benefits do press releases provide?
The benefits extend beyond getting the message out, however. A well-crafted press release sent to the right people serves as an introduction of your business to the reporters, news anchors and producers. If you make a good first impression, they are more likely to print your release, broadcast your story or use the information to enhance another piece.
Even if they don’t, they may keep your contact information on file for future stories. Additional press releases add to your reputation as an industry expert and keep your name and your organization’s name top of mind.
Getting the message out is never guaranteed when you send a news release. There are fewer and fewer reporters covering stories. Every story competes for shrinking space in newspapers and for limited time on air. Huge, breaking reports of national or international events can eclipse the importance of a local news item. Media, of any kind, cannot cover the hundreds of releases sent their way each week.
How can you boost the odds of having your release picked up?
Your chances of getting traction with your release can improve if you keep these suggestions in mind:
- Send only truly newsworthy information that would interest or affect many people.
- Keep it simple; make it about only one subject or event.
- Prepare the release properly, telling who, what, when, where and why quickly, with well-constructed sentences and paragraphs that convey your message succinctly and thoroughly.
- Suggest how your news could be styled in different ways according to the reporter’s beat, for example, as a business brief, history piece, people profile, things-to-do item, health and lifestyle or human-interest article.
- Remember that you are talking to real people, so write enthusiastically to them and build a relationship with them.
- Distribute to media outlets and specific personnel who are likely to be interested in your story, based on genre, subject matter, geographical location and demographic.
In addition:
- Include large, high-resolution photographs.
- Provide complete, accurate contact information and URLs to make it easy for the recipient to reach you or research the story.
- Attach a boilerplate about your organization.
- Offer to provide whatever additional information, photos, videos, B-roll, etc. the reporter needs.
Another way to get the most leverage from a press release is to have it prepared and distributed by professional media specialists, such as the Fryed Egg team.
News releases are a basic element of Fryed Egg’s marketing strategies and one of many marketing tools we use for our clients. We can create releases and distribute them to the media outlets most likely to publish or broadcast your stories. We also can film videos, create B-roll and write or refresh your boilerplate to accompany the releases and then link any published stories to your website and social media platforms.
Our Fryed Egg cadre of skilled writers, photographers and videographers uses a variety of methods to produce the great results you seek for your business, brand, organization or cause. If you need help getting your story heard, contact us today at (813) 478-0494 or [email protected]!