Have you ever read a bad press release? Have you ever written a bad press release? It makes you squirm, wishing that the company understood you, or you receive bad feedback from your audience if you’re the one writing it.
Press releases must change from how they were released pre-pandemic. The world is not the same as it was before.
The coronavirus pandemic has changed so much in the world, and that includes marketing writing and press releases. As the world hopefully nears the post-pandemic era, you want your press releases to be more meaningful than ever.
You may feel lost about where to begin. This guide will help you understand where you are now and where you can go with writing a press release.
Think About Your Tone
In the era of COVID-19, you need to think about the tone. In other words, you need to choose your words carefully.
People’s stress levels are through the roof, and the last thing you want to do is come across as pushy, demanding, or stressful to your potential audience. The coronavirus pandemic is a crisis, and everyone is dealing with different struggles in addition to the collective public health struggle.
Instead of trying to outdo your competition, focus on your strengths as a business and what you can offer clientele. This keeps your press releases more positive-minded rather than seeming to strike competition down.
Think About Your Target Audience
You need to consider who your target audience is as well. This may vary depending on where your press release will be released.
Keep your press release specific and catered to the audience who will read it. Make sure you have a sensitivity reading to make sure you do not overgeneralize or are saying anything problematic.
A press release for a nationwide publication should not look the same as one for a local publication. Take into account the local population and their demographics. For nationwide publications, try to speak to as many people as you can.
Think About the Content of Your Press Releases
You need to consider what content you write for your press releases too. This goes along with thinking about your target audience. Here is how you can write your press releases for good clarity.
The Introduction
Make sure you hook your audience in. No one likes to read boring press releases, and everyone wants to know how the news or information will relate to them and their communities.
Your introduction should not only hook the audience but also have a full first paragraph that could stand on its own as a sort of summary for the press release.
The Middle Content
The middle content is where your main ideas brought forth in the introduction can be further explained. You can write in more detail about these ideas.
If there are quotes, the content in the middle is the place you can use them. Make sure you consider how you are organizing your middle content too.
Adding photos or other multimedia can help make your press release more interesting or provide more context for whoever is reading it. Consider adding multimedia when writing a press release; you have more of a chance to get picked up than without it.
In Conclusion
In conclusion, you need to bring your press release to a close. Ideally, you are looking ahead at what is to come.
Do you have a clear call to action in your conclusion? What do you want people to do after they have finished reading your press release?
In the end, you also need to include your business’s contact information.
Do Not Profiteer or Newsjack
You cannot profiteer or newsjack when releasing your business’s press. Are you unsure what those terms mean? Let’s break it down.
Profiteering
Profiteering is when you earn money, but you do so through possibly dishonest advertising or writing about it in a disdainful way. You are promoting your services or goods, but your audience may stray.
Instead of profiteering, focus less on earning money. Focus more on marketing writing that shows what your business is and what it could offer. There is no need to play dirty here.
Newsjacking
Newsjacking is the promotion of your company’s goods or services but through the use of misinformation. In this way, you mislead your audience.
While trending topics can be important, it is also important that you stay strong about your business’s image. You cannot take advantage of trends only to take advantage of your potential audience.
Spend more time writing press releases filled with truth rather than focusing only on the potential dollar sign. Who are you doing your business for?
Making Meaningful Press Releases in the Age of the Coronavirus
In the age of the coronavirus, your meaningful press release is needed now more than ever. Pretending everything is the same, including writing a press release, will leave you behind every other company.
You too must make moves to write press releases that address reality while offering your services in an honest, diplomatic way. Consider the tone you use and mold it based on who your business’s target audience is and at what time.
Follow an organized structure of content for your press releases as well. Do not fall prey to corrupt practices like profiteering and newsjacking. Stay true to yourself, your business, and your audience.
Do you have more questions on how to craft the perfect press release? Contact us today so we can help you! Make sure you have all the tools your business needs to succeed.