Yes, you should still consider Press Releases in 2024

Even though the talk of the town seems to be the efficiency of Artificial Intelligence, the viral TikTok Video, or even the YouTube Clip of the Deadpool “Bye-Bye-Bye” Dance, when trying to promote a brand or a message, Press Releases are still remarkably effective.  For most Public Relations executives or managers, crafting a scheduled media release schedule is still a vital part of a business marketing strategy for one simple reason;  the numbers don’t lie, and the media coverage affects SEO metrics, and provides credibility and exposure.

However, the difference between simply writing a press release, and trying to promote it by hand, or simple social media posting generally will not merit enough attention to make a difference – there is just too much “white noise” drifting through the free channels – and without commercial, controlled distribution networks, there is very little return on your effort. While it may show that a business is active to those that know the company,  the messages gets “lost” when trying to reach an new audience – which is the primary target for marketing.

It’s not like the audience is shrinking – according to a recent Pew Research Center study, the share of Americans who prefer to get their news online is growing rapidly – at least 34% of U.S. Adults preferred to get their news online, and may soon surpass television as the most popular  preference. While social media is still a driving force is delivering some of the news, Americans are skeptical of the information found on social media – a majority (57%) say that they expect the news found on social media to lie largely inaccurate. So how can a business owner effectively announce news about their brand or get a message out, with these handicaps?

To be successful, a press release must be tailored to stand out amid a media environment teeming with competing messages. When the attention span of consumers has been reduced to split seconds, timing is everything. With a solid PR strategy in place to support a well-timed press release, your company can still be very successful in drawing new attention to your name, brand or product.

For your Press Release to make a difference, here are four tips and some advice from Digital Warlock.

1. In accordance to your announcement or news – research the key phrases and trending interests and try in incorporate this into your news announcements.  Your press releases needs to be actual news or events – not just an advertorial, or a vanity puff piece talking about how amazing your product or services are. It needs to be written to engage the audience in the trending topics of the day AND convert your message at the same time. The editors who choose whether or not to feature your story in their publication are doing so to attract, pacify, or draw readers – so if your story is not interesting or relevant, you will get far less coverage and distribution – or less priority placement.

2. An effective release also has be scheduled for the best possible coverage.  Your PR manager or provider should make every effort to closely track what is trending in the media. Timing your press release to coincide with trending topics can help leverage your message dramatically and make it more “newsworthy.” Adopting this strategy enhances your chances of getting the attention and coverage you desire. After many years of sending releases and gauging performance, Digital Warlock has found that Monday through Wednesday appear to be the most effective three days for distributing press releases, with several indicating Tuesday wins out as the day with the highest likelihood of getting clicks on your pressers. Depending on the subject of your release, this can vary, but in general, this method of timing properly and monitoring other current news releases has proven to amplify the quantity of editors that elect to cover a story.

3. Make your Release Interactive and Interesting by adding images, links, and videos.  Yes, it is true – even press releases have modernized and become increasingly more interactive. By including videos and links to additional resources that can better support the topic of your press release and add value to its message, your organization could have a much greater chance of successfully attracting the right people. Modern press releases are rapidly morphing into a more interactive and engaging type of media event. The most effective press releases are reaching their target audiences sooner and more effectively by integrating these visuals and links.

4. If you are going to invest your time in drafting and sending out a press release, then invest in commercial and accountable distribution networks. The phrase “you get what you pay for” apply to all marketing, including the use of news media distribution. The whole point of a news release is to announce your story to not only the people and customers who already know you, but more importantly, to the people who are NOT your customers YET, who do NOT YET KNOW YOU. And to do this, you should send your news through well known, well documented news distribution networks with a very well documented following – such as the Associated Press, PR Newswire, or CISION.  These networks have a very wide reach, and for a small fee, can expand your reach by topic or industry, state wide, nationally, or even globally with a 24 period. 

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In addition, if done properly by a experienced agent, you can also receive a full documented report of the media outlets that covered your story with complete links to those media sites with 48 hours. This allows a business to see the results of their release, capture the links where their news appeared – and showcase the coverage on a “As Seen On” section of the business website, as well as show the news coverage on their social media channels.

With a good public relations or promotional agent, a business can build a scheduled news release structure that will provide great benefits to the digital marketing footprint of an online business. Not every press release needs to be the most expensive and national coverage – the most effective can be a mix of lower cost release and 1 or 2 national releases of the course of a year. These releases should be written well, and over 600-800 words, with at least one photo or logo, direct links to the services or products showcases, phone numbers, and a media contact that editors can reach out to if they want to do a follow up up story. Each story submitted in the proper can also result in 150-200 news websites connecting their site to the business, providing not only great exposure and credibility, but higher domain authority links that have a significant boosting impact on a business SEO ranking score as well.

Let Digital Warlock, a experienced writer and distributor of Associated Press releases for over 22 years, help you craft your stories and message – and create your own online news cycle that will help you meet your next clients.