The paramount importance of press releases is not unknown to the business owners and individuals in the industry. However, it often happens that even after making a successful campaign; the results are not as fruitful as it is supposed to be. So where is it lacking? In order to reach out to the targeted audience and potential customers, your PR needs to get the maximum press coverage that will help to reach to more relevant audience base.
Compelling writing skills are perhaps the most important thing to craft an effective press release. But what makes a press release distribution more successful is the precise marketing strategies that ensure your PR do not only reaches journalists but the right kind of journalists.
14 Effective Tips to Gain Maximum Press Coverage
1. Take Help from Bloggers and Influencers
It is quite evident that bloggers are influencers who are able to have an impact on mass audiences. Sometimes, the impact is even more powerful than the journalists. These influencers always look for new topics, products, or usable services that can be shared with their followers to keep them engaged. If your business has the capability to engage the consumers, you should definitely take the help of bloggers and influencers who can spread the news even further.
Do not just send them the press release content like your pitch to the journalists. Instead, send them a short personal message that briefly explains your business, the purpose, and why you need them. You can ask them whether to send a copy and create a stronger boding for future promotion.
2. Add Multimedia
Multimedia is perhaps not an important element in the format but did you know multimedia inclusion can help in coverage? Yes, that is true. A recent report shows that the press releases which include multimedia attachments like images, GIFS, videos, etc are more likely to get covered seven times more than the usual PRs. The marketing experts are claiming that video boosted stories get 1400% more coverage. The reason behind these high numbers is quite simple. Journalists always look for more PRs that offer well-rounded engaging material and PR with media attachments suits the purpose.
3. Targeted Outlets for The Target Audience
Mapping out the target audience is more crucial before even crafting the press release. When you know your target audience, it helps to offer a better angle to the story which is more relevant. Similarly, only distributing the content over numerous media platforms would not help unless there are relevant newswire and media platforms that cover your industry. Find and target the outlets that suit your domain and verticals.
4. Use Professional Writing Service
Having strong compelling writing always puts the ball in your court since it reflects a strong foundation and legitimacy through the written approach. You might be able to craft a press release, but only an expert writer knows how to turn the press release into effective marketing content, suitable for all. They are well aware of the format, language, tone, and all the nitty-gritty that makes the PR more engaging.
PR writing packages are fairly reasonable and there are many websites that offer freemium writing services.
5. Always Choose Journalists over Newsrooms
In order to gain more exposure, you might have to send your PRs to the newsrooms. However, it never offers enough exposure like a journalist can. It takes nothing to pitch a journalist or reporter from your niche. They might actually get interested in your story and spread it even further. You have to send your releases to them and explain why it is valuable or how can your business benefits people. Do not just send generic emails to the inactive newsrooms. Instead, target the niche journalists. Make your research to find the journalists from your desired region and industry.
6. Healthy Media Contact List
Before sending your press release to your media contacts, it is better to check your health. During business, there are numerous clients and customers who come and go through each quarter. While it is nearly impossible to maintain and check the email list, you can always take help of the software and applications like Breadcrumbs, NeverBouce, Hunter, and many others. These applications will help you to recognize up-to-date and out-of-date accounts while letting you know the true identity of the clients.
7. Phone Calls Work!
When there is not an adequate amount of information or response from the given email ID, phone calls work well. It might seem like an unofficial approach, but it works fine as an alternative medium of communication. What worst can happen? The other person will receive the call and say ‘no’. Still, there is a chance to contact the journalists via social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
8. Targeting Options Based on Demographics
You should look for press release distribution agencies that offer targeting options based on different demographic divisions. For example, your business offers a product that is perfect for young citizens in the US. Obviously, you would like to concentrate on the age group 16-26 years, America as a region for promotion along with the distinctive industry. Such agencies help to reach potential customers quickly, easily, and in a relevant manner. As a result, you are able to gain attention from exactly the people you wanted from.
9. Make a Valuable Pitch
Let’s be honest. There are numerous business owners and individuals like you who are looking for exposure and boosting sales. That is why the journalists receive a lot of press release pitches every day based on different industries. If you want to make your presence visible among all, an attractive press release can help to stand out.
Make sure you craft a compelling headline that can grab the attention of the journalists in just one glance. Make the first paragraph intriguing enough that makes them go through the whole content. Eventually, they will feature your PR and you will be able to gather more popularity.
10. Send Out The Release at The Right Time
A press release is time-sensitive and there is a right time for doing everything. The planning for release should be started long ago before even availing of the distribution service. A recent survey shows that more than 55,000 users look for the best time to publish PRs just after the writing is done on a regular basis. The study also showed that,
- The average open rate is the highest on Thursdays, nearly 26%.
- 85% of emails are not opened on Wednesdays and Fridays. So, it is not a good day to send.
- 33% of the emails are open between 10 am to 2 pm so it is better to send to in the first hour.
11. Promote on Social Media Platforms
After issuing your press release, it is crucial to follow up with a social media release as most of the online users these days are active on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and many other social media platforms. These social releases include one or more photos and videos attached with the written content that helps to gather more attention. You can always utilize hashtags as keywords that will fulfill the purpose of SEO. There is a possibility, some interested journalists will cover your press release and feature it on their newswire.
12. Take Advantage of The Analytics
If you want to gain valuable insights, there is no better option other than analytics. Tracking the press after writing and distribution is important since it helps to understand whether the campaign is running fruitfully or not. Based on the audience demographics, you are able to know which content is most engaging, what the audiences are really looking for, or whether the press releases are able to fulfill their purpose.
Metrics help to improve each PR approach that can be applied in the future tactics of marketing. The analytics help to gain in-depth data on each campaign.
13. Keep Following up with The Journalists
You might think the work is done after you finished sending the press releases. However, there always should be some follow-up email that reassures them. After pitching your PR, give ample amount of time to the journalist and reporters to read and analyze the whole content in order to find out whether they need any other information. You can even follow up sooner and there is nothing wrong. According to a recent report, 77% of the journalists prefer a follow-up email after receiving the PR. Remember; it is your job to make things easier for the reporters since they are busy looking through other PRs as well.
14. Don’t Just Follow up, Create a Bond
It is quite evident that finding the right journalists who fit your demands and industry is not an easy task. So make sure to strengthen your bonds with journalists who already helped you to earn more exposure. If you are able to create a good bond with them, they are more likely to help you in your future PR approaches.
Final Thoughts
The aforementioned tactics are great to drive more web traffic and online engagement on the business websites with proper utilization of the press release. These tips make sure the PR is able to churn out maximum traction and engagement with the highest press coverage. Thus, your business will start flourishing within a short while.
However, it could be a daunting task to handle everything all by yourself. You can always hire any legitimate press release writing and distribution agency that will help with the process. Usually, the packages are reasonable and way more effective.
