What’s The Best Strategy When Getting A Press Release?

There has been a lot of talk about whether or not press release distribution is still beneficial to today’s digitally-inclined businesses. However, one cannot deny the fact that the PR and Marketing industry is alive and kicking. The truth is, even though the art of press releases is an old and classic marketing method, it has somehow managed to elude time and has actually managed to cope and evolve with the rise of power of the internet. So with all of these latest developments, what is actually the best strategy when getting a press release? Let’s find out.

Modern Press Release

The past decade has changed the way we do things every day. Among these many changes include that of journalism. When it comes to press releases, it is now becoming increasingly clear that writing for the modern journalists is a different ball game entirely. Press releases used to only go through the wire, with only journalists at the end of the line. But in this world of digital marketing, your press release can reach not only the media, but also potential customers, bloggers, and other audiences from all around the world. Additionally, there are more things to consider when it comes to writing and distributing a press release. Among these are social media marketing, your own business website, and most importantly, search engine optimization.

So What Is The Best Strategy For Modern Press Release?

There is one fundamental and simple way to change your perspective of a modern press release for the better. Here it is:

Stop trying to write a press release. Instead, try to write a news story.

Are you shocked that it’s that simple? Well, it’s true. In order to adapt to a more modern and content-driven audience, you should write stories that are relevant, useful, and one that can do well in this “viral” focused modern media. The truth is that when you’re distributing your press release online, it automatically becomes a news story. This can also mean that you become the journalist of some sort since you are the writer of the story. A modern press release gets published as is.

Here are some tips to help you write the best news story for your business:

1. If it doesn’t make for a good story, don’t write it. With so many press releases distributed on the internet daily, standing out from the crowd is more crucial than ever. And in order to stand out, your press release needs to be attention-grabbing, relevant, and useful to your audience. You need to present something that is valuable if you want your press release campaign to be stressful.

2. Anticipate your audience’s needs. How do you come up with newsworthy stories? By knowing what your audience likes to read. Figure out their needs and their everyday questions. Offer answers and solutions. These are the type of stories that get traction and visibility.

3. Use multimedia platforms. Most Press release distribution and PR services online offer the option of including images or videos with your news story. This is an excellent way to make your press release even more attractive to your target audience. Using multimedia is made even more necessary because people are using mobiles more and more to access the internet. You should also consider using infographics when making your press release. They’re easy to digest and attracts more attention than a plain text story.

4. Use search engine optimization techniques. A press release can also serve as an effective SEO method. But don’t start thinking you can just stuff your story with keywords and hyperlinks. In order for your press release to have effective SEO benefits, you need to use SEO techniques that are approved by Google. How do you do this? By only putting keywords and links in the parts where they are actually relevant. Use only natural links and keywords that are not spammy and irrelevant to the topic.

5. Use a call-to-action. An excellent actionable method to increase engagement when creating press release is via call-to-action. A simple CTA phrase at the end of a press release can go along way in making sure your readers follow up on your story and even better, actually buy your product or avail of your business. One thing to remember when writing your CTA is to keep your audience in mind. Whether you plan to include a free product sample or free trial with a hyperlink, make sure your CTA fits your target audience’s preferences.

Conclusion

By remembering to write a newsworthy press release, it will become infinitely easier for you to write a story that can deliver a good punch to your audience. Just write to your audience, use language that is easy to understand, skip the jargon and most importantly, get straight to the point. A proper press release starts with one heck of a story, and it should be your number one priority.