Developing a comprehensive digital marketing strategy is key to the success of your business. Unfortunately, 37% of companies don’t have a digital marketing strategy in place. A digital marketing strategy can encompass multiple initiatives, such as social media marketing, paid advertising campaigns, and press releases.
Press release marketing is an effective way to broadcast information about your business to journalists and prospective customers. A business press release around a new product launch, an upcoming partnership, or another major news beat will help you improve your brand awareness and increase your sales.
This guide will discuss what you need to know about developing a press release marketing strategy. Target the right people with a well-crafted document by following our tips and tricks.
What’s a Press Release?
A press release is a document that informs journalists and media outlets about an important business event. Some of the topics a press release might discuss include:
- New hires
- New service or product
- Partnerships
- Industry awards
- Key recognition
Journalists and your customers would be interested in the information you promote in a press release. They’re a great way for your business to get the attention that it might not have in normal circumstances.
Why Should You Have a Press Release Marketing Strategy?
A press release marketing strategy can help you achieve your business goals. This can include:
- Increased sales
- More website traffic
- Grow your social media following
- Enhance sharing on social media sites
- Build brand authenticity
- Develop relationships with media outlets
- Improve your SEO
Your services and products might be far superior to your competition’s but it won’t do your business any good if people don’t know about them. Distributing press releases to relevant media members will increase your chances of achieving your objectives.
Cost-Effective
Companies devote thousands of dollars to their marketing budgets each year. Press releases are a cost-effective way to promote your brand. Issuing one press release could result in interviews, features, and more, all from one marketing activation.
Improve Brand Awareness
Creating a long-term strategy for press release distribution will help your business organically grow. Journalists will see that you have a steady cadence of news coming out about your company. Their interest in your business will increase as you continue to send them more information.
When Should You Issue a Press Release?
As we mentioned earlier, it’s essential to distribute a press release when you have major news about your company. This news should be information that impacts your customers or is a change that they should be aware of.
When Should You Not Issue a Press Release?
While it’s important to create a consistent schedule for promoting your company, you shouldn’t distribute a press release too often. If you send out too many press releases, journalists might not write about your news.
Press releases should be tied to significant events. If you want to share information or tips with your customers weekly, you might explore posting blogs on your website.
Tips for Developing Press Release Content
Writing a press release can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Many companies think they need to write a press release filled with witty and catchy content. It’s best to be straightforward when creating a press release.
Every statement that you make in a press release should tell the reader something important about your news. There shouldn’t be any fluff or filler sentences in the content. It’s best to start with the most important information at the top of the release before following it up with secondary information.
Unique Value Proposition
The unique value proposition (UVP) is the most important thing to include in your press release. This statement tells the reader the following information:
- The benefits of your news
- What makes it different than your competition
- How your business solves the problems of your customers
When you focus on the UVP when drafting your press release, you can highlight why this news is important to your reader. This statement might be the one thing your readers pay attention to when looking at your press release.
Don’t Write in the First or Second Person
You should write your press releases in the third person. Don’t use the following words:
- I
- My
- You
Even if you’re writing about yourself, use your first and last name. Some press release distribution websites won’t accept press releases if they’re not written in this way.
Highlight the Features
If you’re writing a press release about a new product, you want to include its features and benefits. You’ll also want to discuss the following items:
- Price
- How it’s different from similar products in the market
- A quote from someone at your company
- Images and/or videos
- Links to where people can purchase the product or find out more information
Tell a Story
Press releases should capture the attention of your reader within the first few sentences. For example, if you’re announcing your new company, you should focus more on what products you’re selling.
Talk about how you developed your business idea during a tough economy. Consider what makes your story unique.
Benefits of a Press Release in a Marketing Strategy
Some might consider press releases to be a thing of the past. Let’s discuss some of the ways press releases continue to benefit businesses when included in a digital marketing strategy.
Establish Credibility
Distributing relevant and interesting press releases enables your business to build credibility with journalists and potential and current customers. It’s a great option for new businesses looking to get a leg up over their competition.
One of the best things about press releases is that you can control the narrative around your brand. While they’re primarily used to highlight new information about your organization, there might be a time when your company is going through a negative press or an internal crisis. You can publish credible facts about the situation without having a “spin” on them.
Create Relationships With the Media
Press releases open up communication between you and journalists. Media outlets get hit with press releases and pitches multiple times a day. A journalist will pay attention if you send them a well-written press release on a topic they’re interested in.
A journalist might not be able to write about your news or product at that time. However, they may be more willing to work with you in the future since you’ve established your business’s credibility with them.
Build Your SEO Traffic
A press release should incorporate search engine optimization (SEO) best practices into the content. Search engines can find and rank your press release. Users can find your press release and learn about your business when they search for a word or phrase that’s mentioned in your release.
You can also repurpose your press release to create more content for your website. It doesn’t take a lot of time to make a few alterations to your press release, turning it into a blog that you post on your website. You can also have a separate section on your website where you share company news and link to published press releases.
Journalists Look for Press Releases
While journalists are inundated with press releases, that doesn’t mean that they don’t want to hear about a good story. Press releases are one of their main resources for finding newsworthy information to write about.
Increase Your Customer Base
Press releases get your information in front of a wide range of customers. Your press releases can help your company rank higher in search engine results, catching the attention of customers. Your website’s traffic will organically increase as customers find your business through internet searches.
How to Write Different Types of Press Releases
While there are many reasons you might want to issue a press release, the general format is the same across the board. Every press release should include the following basics:
- Your company’s contact information
- “For Immediate Release” written at the top
- Your business location
- A company bio at the end of the release
- A strong headline
The first paragraph of your press release should say what your announcement is. It should also provide a little context about your business and what you do.
The following two or three paragraphs should include the quote we talked about earlier. This is also a great time to include bullet points that outline key information about the news, like product features.
Your final paragraph should be a section about your company. This is also a good spot to include links to your website and social media pages.
Partner With an Experienced PR Writing Firm
Developing a press release marketing strategy is key, especially if you have multiple products coming out in a short timeframe. You want to ensure each bit of news gets the attention it deserves.
Learning how to write a compelling press release can take time. That’s where eReleases come in. Contact us today to learn more about our press release writing and distribution services.