So you finally emailed that press release out after a week of solid work. Time to relax! Right?
Not so! There a number of things you could be doing to make sure your press release hits the ground running and doesn’t disappear into the ether. Let’s take a look at five of them.
1. Cultivate the Reporter
After sending a press release, the first step is to follow up with media contacts. Wait 1-2 days before reaching out to journalists and editors to confirm receipt. Personalize your follow-up emails and offer exclusive angles or additional data to entice coverage. Be prepared to provide quick responses to any questions and consider offering embargoed information for more in-depth stories.
Cultivating relationships with reporters is also important. You have been talking to the reporters at the newspaper, haven’t you? Uh oh. Well, there’s no time like the present. Get out there and start chatting people up, being careful not to be a nuisance.
One great way to do this is to offer your services as a source. When reporters need a quote for a story from a respected source, you want them to remember you name. Ensure this by offering yourself to help with anything they need up at the paper.
2. Promote the News Story from Your Press Release
Want to really get the journalist’s attention (not to mention the editor and owner)? Then help promote their work! Like the cultivation above, you should have technically started this before you even wrote the press release. In any case, sharing on social media is crucial. Create platform-specific content, such as graphics for Instagram or short videos for TikTok. Use relevant hashtags to increase visibility and encourage employees to share the news on their professional networks. Consider paid promotion for important announcements and respond promptly to comments and questions on social platforms.
Don’t forget to update your website. Ensure the press release is SEO-optimized with relevant keywords and include high-quality images or infographics. Add a clear call-to-action if applicable and update your homepage with a banner or pop-up for major news. Make sure the news is reflected in relevant product or service pages.
And don’t neglect internal communication. Send an internal memo summarizing the news and its importance. Provide talking points for employees to use with customers or partners and share positive media coverage to boost morale. For significant announcements, consider a brief all-hands meeting. Update internal documentation or knowledge bases as needed to ensure everyone in the organization is aligned and informed.
3. Monitor Your Results
Next, focus on monitoring media coverage. Utilize tracking tools from your press release distribution service like WireWatch from eReleases. Use other media monitoring tools like Meltwater or Cision in addition to Google Alerts. Check both online and offline media, including print newspapers and TV news. Look for mentions even if the full press release wasn’t published, and monitor social media platforms for shares and discussions. Keep track of the sentiment of the coverage, noting whether it’s positive, neutral, or negative.
After the dust settles, analyze your results. Compare them to previous press releases and industry benchmarks. Identify which media outlets and journalists provided the best coverage and assess the timing of your release. Evaluate the effectiveness of your headline and key messages, using these insights to refine your media list and approach for future releases.
4. Prepare for a Call
A journalist might catch wind of your press release and authentically like it. However, this doesn’t mean he or she won’t have questions. This means you’re going to get a (possibly late night) call about what you wrote.
You must be ready at all times for this call! Blubbering or telling them to call later can only lead to bad things, including your press release getting lost in the mix. This may even affect future releases you send. Always be on guard to answer any questions with a smile, no matter how crazy they may sound at first.
Create a FAQ document for consistent messaging and set up a dedicated email or phone line for press inquiries. Brief all customer-facing staff on how to handle questions and be ready to provide additional resources like images or data sheets. For major announcements, consider hosting a press conference or Q&A session.
And don’t forget that press releases oftentimes generate calls from the media long after they were initially run. 30% of businesses report receiving contact from a journalist about a press release that was sent out by a press release distribution service several months – or even a year or more – after they’ve sent it. Never buy into the myth that the effectiveness of a press release ends a few days after it is sent.
5. Start Work on Your Next Press Release
The percentage chance your press release actually made it into the newspaper is often slim. Press releases flood the market. Instead of sitting around and waiting for that one to catch, start work on your next one. This keeps things moving instead of stagnating. Public relations is a constant, steady practice, and you must stay constant and steady, too!
Additional Ideas? Share below.
This article is written by Mickie Kennedy, founder of eReleases (https://www.ereleases.com), the online leader in affordable press release distribution. Download a free copy of the PR Checklist – a 24 point list of Press Release Dos and Don’ts here: https://www.ereleases.com/free-offer/pr-checklist/