No matter how much society advances in terms of technology, the news will never lose its charm. People still like to stay updated about what happens in the world around them. They rely on news to stay updated. In today’s digitized world the medium through which we perceive news has changed. Most of us now read them online through different devices. That is why press releases are so popular among business owners who want to share the news of their company or brand with the target audience. To spread brand awareness, you must know how to issue a press release.
As most of the readers are reading the PR online, some people treat press releases as an SEO tool. They do provide effective search engine optimization; they are mostly used for branding and increasing the credibility of the brand. They are the perfect way to get the word out about your product or service.
If your press release is compelling enough, it will get a huge amount of online exposure and audience engagement through media coverage in a short time frame. To get the full benefit of a press release, you need to follow the rules that modern PR issuing requires. Here we will discuss the steps that you can follow to successfully issue a press release.
1. Follow The Right Way of Writing
Press release writing is easier said than done. An ideal press release tells your story in a journalistic way. Writing in such a way can only be achieved through years of practice. Not anyone can write a newsworthy press release. You need to have knowledge in the field to come up with effective content.
- A press release needs to be written following the inverted pyramid structure.
- On the top, there should be the headline.
- The most important information should be placed in the opening paragraph.
- The less important facts are to be written in the following passages.
- Keep a separate paragraph just for the quotes from the important figures of your company.
- Add a boilerplate copy in the end.
- Make sure the content does not contain more than 5 paragraphs.
2. Research Your Audience
When you are crafting a press release always remember that it’s not for you to read. You must keep the audience in mind while writing the content.
- Find out which age group your audience belongs to. Use appropriate language that attracts the target audience.
- Research the customers’ demographical area. You can easily understand how to attract a particular group of consumers.
- Researching your customers can make a huge difference in audience engagement and the online visibility of your content.
- Find out what they want to know from you and provide them with that information in your press release.
3. Use Proper Targeting
When you are issuing a press release, they need to be targeted. With proper targeting, you can reach the right audience that can bring profit to your business. Conveying your story to a vast audience who are not even interested in your brand or industry will make your PR issuing a failure. That is why you need to set a target before the PR distribution.
- Research the industries where your product, service, or company is relevant.
- Approach the media houses that cover those industries.
- Send your press release to the news houses where your target audience visits regularly.
4. Create A Good Pitch
Press releases are used to establish a powerful brand image for your company. This is the most important factor in today’s marketing world. Even SEO has become more about branding than creating backlinks. In order to issue a successful press release, first, you need to write an effective elevator pitch that separates you from the crowd.
- You need to acquire proper knowledge about your brand and the market to craft a good pitch.
- Research your competitors to get more edge on the matter.
- Make sure the headline is eye-catching and exciting.
- Add action words and keywords in your headline for better results
5. Edit Your Content
Your press release represents your company and brand. Sob the quality of your press release determines your reputation in the market. The journalists and the media houses, where you send your story get bombarded with thousands of press releases every day. They do not go through all the PRs in detail and reject them if they find the slightest of mistakes. So if your press release has even one grammatical or spelling error, there is no hope for it to ever get published. Do check your content before you send them out.
- There are different apps and websites that you can use to find out the mistakes.
- Also, check them for plagiarism. It can get serious if your writing breaches any copyright.
6. Collaborate
Collaboration works for every industry in the world. Teamwork is always better as it brings a fresh new perspective to the plate. Collaborating with other brands can bring you a huge amount of traffic introducing your content to a new group of customers. Co-write press releases together so that the content can become richer and more informative. This move can also improve the clarity of your content and enhance the writing quality.
7. Cross-Promote
Cross-promoting is one of the most effective ways of promoting your press release. If you do not endorse your press release, it will never reach the right audience in your preferred timeline. Through cross-promoting, you can spread the news on multiple platforms simultaneously.
- Find a cross-promoting partner who is willing to split the cost of the PR distribution and syndication with you.
- Make sure the partner is reliable. Find out about their previous cross-promoting to know if they are right for you.
- Reach out to your business partners to acquire a cross-promotion partner for your next PR campaign.
8. Use Professional Distributors
A quality PR distribution channel can offer guaranteed placement of your story in the top media houses. There are different press release distribution services available in the market. Some are cheap, some are a bit expensive and more even free. Free PR distribution might sound tempting, but these services are full of ads and offer no guarantee.
- Make sure the service you selected has in-depth knowledge about your industry.
- The distributing agency must have proper experience covering your specific field.
- Find out which media outlets they publish the content. See if those platforms are regularly visited by your target audience.
9. Syndicate After PR Distribution
PR syndication is a highly important aspect of distribution. Blindly sending your PR out to as many places as you can will not increase your chances of getting success. Use your social media platforms to do press release syndication. Use the different hyperlinks of your press release and post then on different social channels where you syndicate on. During PR syndication, you must have an access to the dashboard to find out about the different mediums where it was posted for distribution.
10. Increase Your Social Hold
Traditional online marketing has evolved drastically over time. You need proper social media marketing in order to gain traction for your press release. Promote your press releases through social media to reach your existing customer base as well as the new and potential audience. You should also track your traction through social analytics to get a clear idea of your progress. The post on these mediums will also help you boost the brand image of your product or service. Interact with your followers and encourage them to share them with a newer group of consumers.
11. Repost with Caution
You may want to repost the actual press release on your website multiple times in hopes of getting more visibility. But it actually degrades the quality of your content authenticity. It also has a negative impact on the page score ranking on Google and other search engines.
- Write a few lines or a teaser about the content and ad the direct links of the distribution sites or the top media outlets, where it was published.
- It enhances the credibility of your content as well as your brand.
- Use different links each time so that your posts look refreshing diverse.
12. Add Multimedia and SEO
Many press release distribution services offer search engine optimization services for their clients. Embedding keywords in your content can enhance your ranks in the SERPS. You will be rewarded with effective backlinks in your content. Make sure your PR agency optimizes your content based on your target. Most PR distributors offer multi-media inclusion in their clients’ press releases. Provide them with appropriate images, videos, infographics, and other multi-media elements that could make the audience stay on your content much longer. They also help improve social media reach and brand awareness for your company.
Use these tips to successfully issue a press release and increase its audience engagement.
