Guest post from Therese Palmere
Press releases are an essential component of any brand’s public relations strategy because media coverage helps a business grow. A press release is a public statement made by your brand announcing anything from latest achievements to possible future events. To help your team write powerful press releases that will help your business grow, here is the what, the where and the how of press releases.
Are you familiar with the waltz?
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universal structure, but in order to stand out among the millions, your content must be unique. Dancing with the media can be a bit daunting at first, but once you learn the steps everything else comes naturally. Your copy should be intriguing like the movement of the dance and compelling enough to capture the attention of reporters and journalists alike. You want them to be interested in what you have to share so they can further develop stories about your company, increasing brand awareness and visibility to a new audience.
So put one foot in front of the other and let’s start practicing!
The What?
Determining what your press release should be about may be the hardest task on your list. There are many different options to consider but you want to ask your team what warrants a press release in the eyes of your business.
Content should be exciting enough to share with your current audience and interesting enough to capture new faces as well. Annual events, new products, and notable awards are all good reasons to start crafting a press release. Collaborations with new partners or meetings with new clients are also valid points you want to bring to the press. Integrate these into your content marketing plan so they can support the copy you have laid out for the upcoming months.
The Where?
The way we consume news has changed drastically since the rise of social media, with 62% of adults in the United States now receiving their news through it.
This is important to consider when drafting a press release because the way it’s written must be native to the platform. If you want to take the social approach, having a great headline that captures a user’s attention is one way to peak their interest. Keeping them on the same page would mean images and visuals sprinkled throughout the copy to help gauge their understanding. Your team could even create a video to go along with your press release. Get creative and stand out!
If social isn’t for you, email marketing is another efficient way to deliver news to your current audience. According to a report done by the Radicati Group, a message is 5x more likely to be seen in an email than through Facebook. Email automation is good for reaching numbers, but if it’s impact you’re after, then getting personal is how you’ll get them hooked. Emails with personalized subject lines are also 26% more likely to be opened than those without. Target specific news outlets or writers and make your press release a bit more intimate.
The How?
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As stated above, the general outline of press releases have a universal structure. They are impactful documents usually limited to around a page to keep things concise. The first couple of paragraphs includes facts: the who, the what, the where and the when. These bits of necessary info will help set the foundation for what you’re about to give the media, which is the why.
Why is this announcement something the media should pay attention to? Why should a journalist continue researching into your company? Why is your business worth the time and investment?
After the informational greeting, you want to give writers something they can sink their teeth into. Give them juicy quotes that align with your branding or information about the event/product they can use later on. You only have a short amount of space to make big impact, so make sure you use it well!
Here is an example of a good press release from our friends over at HubSpot:
And Five, Six, Seven, Eight!
Just in case you need a bit more practice, here are the what, the where and how once again.
The what: determine what you want your press releases to be about based on what your brand feels is important.
The where: stay relevant by choosing non-traditional outlets to announce your news.
The how: structure is important but the quality of the content is even more so.
Therese Palmere is a creative writer for Aumcore, a digital marketing agency NYC based with office around the globe. Her background is in guerilla style marketing for the nonprofit sector and content writing. She has written articles and blog topics regarding popular digital marketing trends, social media updates, and developments in the tech world.
