In a modern, digital world, what role do news releases play—if any—and how can businesses use them to build relationships with buyers?
News Releases as a Tool for Consumer Connection
The developing trend of creating press releases with buyers in mind is a controversial one. Indeed, many seem either to cling to the news release as a tool for communicating with the media or dismiss it altogether, viewing it as an artifact of a pre-digital era.
So, first, we must ask, Are they still relevant? And the answer is, Well, yes, but it depends how they’re used. News releases are tools like any other; they may fall in or out of fashion, but, when used properly, they serve their purpose. While the press release might someday become obsolete, they’re still here, for now, and people are still reading them.
The next question is whether it’s appropriate to tailor your press release to your consumer base—to anticipate that your buyer will read it, and maybe even take action based on its contents. Some think not. All it takes is a brief search of something to the effect of “consumer press releases suck” to find some highly opinionated articles detailing that exact stance. But, like it or not, it’s happening. Public relations itself isn’t even confined to “reaching media,” instead being defined by the Public Relations Society of America as “a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.” In layman’s terms, it is the process by which you (the business) connect with other people (the audience).
With that in mind, how do we adjust our press release strategies to suit a digital audience? How do we create value for our consumers?
5 Tips for Building Better News Releases
- Maximize Keywords. Cision’s 2021 “State of the Press Release” report identifies the most-used verbs in press release headlines and compares them to the most-viewed. “Announce,” “launch,” and “expand” are by far the most popular keywords, but readers seem to favor “allow,” “roll out,” “release,” “reveal,” “prove,” and “confirm.” The character count of a news release’s headline also matters: page views are highest with headlines at around seventy-five characters and lowest at zero and two hundred twenty-five characters, respectively.
- Mind Your Language. Everything about your press release is going to send a message, down to pronoun usage. For instance, a brand might use “we,” “us,” and “our” in reference to the company’s stances or goals, which conveys a more personable, humanized image. Or they’ll refer to themselves in the third person for an air of objective professionalism—something you’ll see more commonly in individual meet-the-team bios. Look over your news releases before publishing them and keep an eye out for tone: what message are you sending? How do you feel about it? How do you want your readers to feel?
- Incorporate Multimedia Elements. That same Cision 2021 report found that press releases containing one image received double the engagement as press releases containing only text. Releases with video elements received triple the engagement, and news releases with multiple images received up to six times the engagement as their text-only counterparts. Visuals entice the reader, they help illustrate your message, and they keep people reading for longer amounts of time.
- Publish on Multiple Platforms. Sites like Business Wire, PRWeb, GlobeNewswire, and PR Newswire are dedicated to press release distribution and help to get your news release on the Google News page. You pay based on distribution, and distribution usually depends on whatever geographical location you select. This enables your news release to reach a potentially unlimited number of news sites, some big and some small, but bear in mind that covering a large region doesn’t measure up to getting your release on larger websites that already have better reach. At the same time, you should be publishing your releases on your own website and anywhere else you have access to (LinkedIn, Facebook, and, if you’re award-winning novelist Neil Gaiman, Tumblr). This ensures that the maximum number of people see your release and can engage with it.
- Make it Actionable, Frequent, and Consistent. Now that press releases are reaching the general public directly, they must be made with the general public in mind. It’s no longer enough to simply announce your news and leave; you have to try and stand out in a sea of near-identical news announcements. The best way to do this is to give your reader something to do: a link to click, a podcast to try, a newsletter or free trial to sign up for, a special offer, etc. And don’t wait for big news to put out a press release, either: use smaller-but-still-interesting tidbits as an opportunity to create a more frequent release schedule and maximize your reach over time. As with a blog post, try to reward your readers with consistent, valuable content.
References
Cision. (2021). 2021 State of the Press Release. Cision. https://www.cision.com/resources/guides-and-reports/2021-state-of-the-press-release/
Ling, M. (2017). Press release: A tool for public relations. Open Access Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington.
PRSSA. (n.d.). What is Public Relations | Learn About PR | PRSSA. https://www.prsa.org/prssa/about-prssa/learn-about-pr
Scott, D. M. (2022). The new rules of marketing and PR: How to Use Content Marketing, Podcasting, Social Media, AI, Live Video, and Newsjacking to Reach Buyers Directly. John Wiley & Sons.
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