Press Releases - no longer just for journos…

Have you noticed recently how ‘press releases’ and ‘news releases’ have now become interchangeable? As the name conveys, ‘press releases’ were originally aimed primarily at the media, but with the rise of the Internet they have slowly evolved into ‘news releases’. So why the subtle shift in phrasing? Does this mean that the importance of scribing a news-piece exclusively for media consumption is falling?

Don’t get me wrong, the traditional route of gaining ‘ink’ via journalists and magazines still plays a major part in branding and message delivery - a balanced, independently written product review, case study or thought-leadership article in a respected industry magazine is still a powerful way to influence potential buyers, but with the decline in traditional paper based titles set to continue, plus the emergence of blogs, online newswires, and social media tools such as Twitter, Linked-In, Facebook - the PR landscape has changed, as have the key influencers.

At the click of a mouse, potential prospects can gather information from a myriad of sources on their own terms, often by-passing traditional news gathering tools in favour of recommendations and word-of-mouth, written not by trained journalists but by anyone that has the volition and strength of opinion to air their views on a particular subject. This means that the ‘press release’ is now public domain which changes the rules slightly on how they can be written.

What it does for the first time is to provide organisations with a direct platform to communicate with existing or potential customers. The beauty of this ‘new media’ is that prospects will find you. So where do you start? Good content development must start with the website; it doesn’t matter whether you are selling fridge freezers, or esoteric software applications, if there is a need, then a buyer’s first port of call will be to search the Internet. By posting news releases and other educational content on your website is therefore vital but it has to answer the surfer’s immediate business issues, not wax lyrical on what a wonderful company you are. Instead it must demonstrate to potential prospects that you are an expert in your field, even if this means giving away a few tips or secrets.

Don’t be afraid to show off your knowledge on a particular topic, like a magazine or a journal you need to be able to offer some ‘value’ or ‘interest’ for your readers. By sharing your expertise or advice a potential customer feels valued and whether or not they need to buy at that moment, they will come back when the time is right. This is why sustaining a flow of high quality content is crucial to develop a long-term following. You might even want to post updates on useful web content to your Twitter account, that way you can draw attention to new material as well as boost your overall web presence.

So whether you’re penning the latest ‘news release’ or developing a white paper, try to think like a journalist, remember your audience and write about what interests them…that way they’re more likely to take an interest in you.