Online PR - Getting your press release right first time
It appears to me from having worked with a number of Manchester based PR agencies that there is still a certain level of uncertainty regarding the opportunities that can be leveraged from utilising online as a mechanism for PR distribution. Sometimes this seems to be down to ignorance, other times just a reluctance to embrace new opportunities, however there are a couple of PR agencies starting to take note. However this dearth of the use of Online PR, only serves to highlight the gab between SEO companies trying to embrace PR and PR companies trying to embrace SEO. I would suggest neither is serving the client as well as they could do.
On one hand we have the PR agencies using clever wordplay trying to create an impression compelling with the end user, with little or no consideration for algorithmic news and search engines, on the other optimisers generating content solely for ranking purposes, with little or no consideration for newsworthiness, or the end user. Press Release spam is unfortunately on the rise, and such activity (which often includes little or no editorial review) reduces the credibility of the wire services utilised and decreases the potential of your news being taken seriously (either now or in future).
This creates somewhat of a conundrum, to write particularly with the end user in mind, or focus more on either maximising syndication, and/or potential in terms of online marketing. I would suggest assessing the function of your press release is as good a place to start as any. Does you press release need to:
- Target and engage with end users
- Benefit the search marketing activity of you/your clients site.
- Tackle any existing issues - ie crisis management
- Do you need to maximise exposure in terms of pickup
Such questions will give you a reasonable basis to start writing your release. Setting a tone for your release is an important step in writing the release and understanding the functional requirements of the release will provide a solid foundation for use of keyword and linkage within your release. For example, should your release be part of an ongoing SEO campaign, the use of key terms and contextual linkage would be a necessity within the release; similarly, if you are writing the release with a defined end user in mind, then the wording and tone of your e-mail will be as important for your online release as they would be offline.
Just as importantly is the distribution mechanism. We highlighted a number of reasons which may determine how your press release may be written. This though will also affect, how your release should be distributed, however I would add budget will be a factor in many peoples agendas. However saying that there are a number of releases that can be effectively utilised, such as:
Services such as Marketwire, Businesswire and PRNewswire, although more expensive can be particularly useful particularly if more aggresive targeting is required. For example, Marketwire allows targeting by country (both online and offline sources), as well as segmentation by industry/sector. Getting this right can often be the difference between success and failure.
A knock on effect of such activity can result in increased visibility on services such as the following
News search engines:
Blog search engines:
Social Bookmarking/Tag based engines:
- del.icio.us
- furl.net
- Digg
- swicki’s
If media coverage is an issue, then do your homework to identify target publications with their editorial calendars in mind. Follow this up by sending appropriate journalists personal emails/pitches on your story. Don’t waffle, keep it succinct and include a url to the full release. It is also advisable to not include the entire release within the e-mail can be negatively perceived by some journalists. It can also be useful to make use of an optimised press centre in order to allow journalists, and customers to ’subscribe’ to your press center and be advised when new releases are added. It is also advisable to include relevant links to past releases, past media coverage, contact info, high resolution photographs, executive bios and links to applicable employee blogs (should this be available - Search Latitude are a good example of doing this well). The availability of all releases via a RSS feed can also contribute to increased exposure when a release is distributed.
There is no doubting that online has the potential to significantly impact on the performance/effect of a press release, particularly if the release is correctly focussed and targets the applicable channels effectively. This though requires a lot of hard work, good research, and often some imagination and luck.
1 comment June 4th, 2007
