When many think of PR, they instantly think ‘press release’. Well, yes they certainly do form part of the public relations mix, but there is so much more and companies need to be looking to get much more out of a press release and make the most of their PR activities.
First and foremost, if you are going to put the time and energy into writing a press release, it really must have a news angle. You might consider the fact that you have launched a new website or refurbished your office is fantastic news, but believe me journalists won’t! Think about what there is an appetite for and craft a release based on this. Your target audience is seeking advice and information on subjects that will help them in their day to day job. Think about what data you have access to – salary levels, skills in demand, pooling & pipelining and diversity - and use that to form a release about the market you operate in. This will have far more appeal and position you as an expert in your respective field.
Once you have a good, crucially, newsworthy press release, here are my top tips on how you can get much more out of a press release:
I don’t need to go into too much detail here. It’s simple – if you’ve got some great press coverage don’t just put it in a folder in your office, disseminate it across all your social media channels and get it in front of your target audience. And encourage the team to do the same on their individual accounts.
Do you have a company blog? If you don’t then I would strongly advise you do…but that’s a different blog topic all together! Think about the key themes in your release and put together a blog post. This gives you a great opportunity to expand on the key themes in the release. You can then share this on your social media channels and drive your target audience to where you want them: your website.
We live in an era where professionals are time short. They are often looking for content on the go and accessing it from their smartphones which means that visuals – such as infographics – are a great option for targeting these individuals. And there are plenty of platforms, such as Canva, that can help you with the design element if you don’t have designers in-house.
If you’ve got a great angle for your press release it is well worth approaching the editorial team of sector publications that you know your target audience sources information from. Approach them and see if they would be interested in an article from you on the themes in your press release. Journalists are always interested in topical pieces from expert voices – just remember this is not advertorial so content cannot be deemed as salesy in any way.
Last but by no means least, incorporate the themes of your press release into your content marketing activities. Do you produce regular mailers or newsletters? If so include commentary in here on the topic – this not only allows you to expand on the key themes but it also demonstrates your knowledge to a far wider audience of potential clients and candidates.
Press releases certainly have their place in the PR mix and, as long as the ones you produce are newsworthy, they can be leveraged into many more forms of content and get your brand in front of a far larger audience.