Regardless of the newest product, service or message a company wants to promote, getting that information in front of the right eyes is one of the most important steps within the life cycle of any piece of news or business announcement. In the case of the press release — a critical mainstay within the public relations arsenal of tools — ensuring that information is effectively communicated and distributed is vital for creating client success.
To achieve maximized exposure and interest within the right audiences, it’s not enough to just write a compelling press announcement about a newsworthy business move. Every press release must be combined with a carefully considered and executed distribution strategy. Furthermore, a comprehensive strategy for targeted dissemination across newswires, the web, social media or bespoke databases is necessary for optimizing ROI and enhancing impact. Here are just a few of the strategies that iMiller Public Relations employs to achieve highly effective press release performance:
- Take Advantage of Multimedia
The world moves at breakneck speed in the digital era, and you can bet that the vast majority of individuals that cross paths with press releases are making split-second decisions about how to allocate their time and interest. As a result, grabbing readers’ attention within a short timeframe is the key to getting the desired audience to engage with the information at hand. Pictures and visuals are the best way to achieve this, as they’re easy to digest and don’t take long to understand. According to research by 3M (the corporation behind Post-it Notes) visuals are processed 60,000 times faster than text. By including pictures (or videos or infographics), the actual content of the press release is both differentiated and complemented by something punchy, eye-catching and effective. - Prioritize Frequency and Consistency
The foundation of a successful press release strategy is, in part, built on having continued messaging from clients going out to the audience. Not only does this keep the company and their services, products or differentiators fresh in the minds of the reader, it helps build a continued narrative or story for the company. This piece from Harvard’s Business Publishing Corporate Learning blog states that the efficacy of storytelling comes as a result of its ability to forge connections among people and between people and ideas. Storytelling and narrative interest builds trust and familiarity, both of which are certainly important in today’s world of tight competition. Subsequently, ensuring a consistent amount of contact via press releases with the audience is a good way to build that storytelling factor and give the audience an idea of the company trajectory. Not to mention, it also underscores the idea that the company is constantly advancing, developing and creating new avenues of value for customers. - Move Quickly
Press releases are what put business news on the map for key media and press individuals, and giving them plenty of time to engage with the messaging and take action helps to ensure quality, complete earned coverage. If the press release discusses the launch of a new product or an event, pushing them out right before the date of launch means that the audience doesn’t have much time to investigate. Plus, the longer the news is out there, the more time it has to be picked up by other important audiences. Another facet here is that of competition. Sure, clients are moving quickly, but their competitors are moving quickly too. By always making it a priority to get press releases out and over the wire as soon as possible, this avoids the possibility of being second to other company’s announcements. - Create a Content Engagement Network
While creating a network of viewers is important, this isn’t necessarily what this tip means. When creating press announcement content, creating an engagement network or web means filling out the release wherever possible with hyperlinks that can bring readers to past releases, to third parties or to other related messaging on the client’s website. While this has to be done carefully (you don’t want to dilute your main point), highlighting other areas of value and including additional relevant angles can bring in a wider audience that may come from these third party areas. Plus, this gets readers of the latest release to dig deeper into client websites and engage with other messaging that has already been posted instead of just letting past news remain stagnant.
In the complex world of online presence, being heard and getting messages dispersed effectively for maximum engagement gets trickier by the day. While these are just a few methods to ensure success, there exist a plethora of other ways to differentiate, optimize and curate an approach that works. This can include building social channels, creating archives, perfecting content and more.
While not every strategy will suit every audience, every vertical or every client, this is why insider trade secrets and years of practice and insight are the best assets that any enterprise can have on their side. When it comes to making the most of a press release, consulting the pros can often be the secret to curating a winning approach.
Still not sure? Then start with learning how to write a press release with our handy outline here.
To learn more about iMiller Public Relations’ strategic communications expertise and more, please click here.
