Media

Is the Press Release Dead?

By April 22, 2014 April 28th, 2014 No Comments

Why businesses can still get ahead by using press releases

  • A press release can help grow your business and profile, build credibility and awareness

  • Press releases should be an integral part of any business’s marketing strategy

In the era of social media where news breaks instantly and reporting has become crowdsourced, does the humble press release still have a place? Ralph Grayden and Emma Sorensen, directors of communications agency Antelope Media, believe that now, more than ever, the press release offers businesses a unique opportunity to get ahead.

“Like advertising, or having an social media presence, PR should part of any business’s marketing plan,” Ralph Grayden says. “Many of our clients use press releases as a way to leverage their expertise, build trust, grow their profile, increase business opportunities and be seen as a leader in their field.”

How can PR help your business?

Good PR supports and enhances any other print or online advertising or marketing. And the centrepiece of any good PR is a killer press release.

ralphgrayden.jpg“A press release allows you to tell your story to the media,” says Ralph Grayden. “In theory, you can control what information is released, how, why and when. You could even think of it as just another form of content marketing”.

“A press or media release allows you a different kind of exposure and builds credibility with audiences in two ways: firstly, they’re reading about you through the filter of a third party; and secondly, there are added benefits for SEO rankings depending on how you distribute your press release,” Ralph says.

“You want to avoid a scattergun approach,” says Emma Sorensen. “Press releases are not for every situation. They’re best when targeted at a relevant audience as part of an overall strategy”.

Essential PR ingredients

Emma Sorensen, who has worked on the “other side” of the fence as a journalist, says that a good press release needs a strong, newsworthy angle, it should be well researched, and its distribution to media outlets (old and new) has to be pinpointed and well-pitched for maximum effect.

“A lot of people get hung up on form but to be honest, no journalist is really going to care which format you put the date in or whether you write END at the end of your copy. But good press releases do have one thing in common: they make a journalist’s job easy.”

emmasorensen.jpg“This doesn’t necessarily mean writing the story for them – though sometimes it can with an advertorial,” says Emma. “You simply need to feed them all the key ingredients they need to make a great story, and present them clearly and logically.”

Read Antelope Media’s 10 tips for perfect press releases.

Download a PDF of the full press release here: Is the Press Release Dead?

 

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