Are media outlets and consumers engaging with your brand? It can take five impressions before people recognize your business. Without a media outreach strategy, you could miss a chance to generate brand visibility.
Generating media attention can help you reach your ideal customers online. As you gain more brand visibility, you can build brand trust and loyalty. The right media outreach strategies can help you generate sales and long-term customers.
Not sure where to start? Read on for the press release tips you need to ensure your success!
Establish Your Goals
Before drafting your first press release, consider what goal you want to accomplish. Establish a Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely (SMART) goal. These goals can give you direction as you develop your media outreach strategies.
Defining goals will help you determine what type of press release to write. Press releases can cover:
- Product launches
- Events
- Acquisitions
- Milestone achievements
- New hires
- Financial results
- White paper or research findings
- Awards or recognitions
- Crisis management
- Partnerships/collaborations
- Seasonal or holiday promotions
- Expert opinions/thought leadership pieces
- Rebranding initiatives
- Community engagement
- Charitable initiatives or donations
The press release will announce an event, information, or news about your brand or an individual. Your primary goal is to generate media coverage and public interest.
As part of your PR strategy, press releases can help you reach your ideal audience. Once media outlets share this information, you can engage your target audience. This will help you generate brand visibility, awareness, and recognition.
Here are a few goals you can accomplish with the right media outreach strategies.
Attract Media Attention
A strong press release can help you attract the attention of multiple media outlets. Once they share your press release, you can start reaching new audiences.
Journalists receive hundreds of press releases every day. Consider partnering with a PR writing and distribution company. They’ll ensure your press release appeals to journalists at the right media outlets.
Journalists will use your press release to develop news stories. About 20% of journalists consider press releases the number one most trustworthy source of information. Nearly 60% find them more useful than any other public relations asset.
Utilizing digital media outreach strategies can help you garner more media attention. In fact, 90% of press releases are pitched to online media outlets. Gaining more media attention will help you generate more brand awareness.
Generate Brand Awareness
Remember, people need to view your brand multiple times to remember it exists. The right media outreach strategies will help you generate more brand awareness.
As people view your brand more often, they’ll become comfortable with your business. In time, brand trust will grow. Once people trust your business, they’ll feel more comfortable choosing your products and services.
This will help you generate sales and retain customers. Retaining customers can improve your ROI long-term.
Improve SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) will help your brand appear higher on search engines like Google. Improving your organic rankings will help you generate brand visibility. You can attract website traffic to gain new customers.
Successful press releases can improve your organic rankings. People will view your brand more often, leading to increased awareness. You’ll rank ahead of competing brands, which can help you gain credibility within your niche.
Shape Public Perception
A strong PR strategy can help you shape how consumers perceive your brand. You can control the narrative to enhance your brand’s image.
In fact, public relations is 90% more successful at influencing consumers than advertising. Successful press releases can:
- Generate brand awareness
- Increase website search engine rankings
- Improve a brand’s public image
Improving your public image will encourage brand trust and loyalty.
Follow the Proper Format
Once you determine why you’re creating your press release, you’ll need to follow the proper format. Otherwise, journalists won’t give it a second glance. Follow this format to increase the likelihood you’ll gain media attention.
Write a Clear Headline
Write a headline that’s clear, concise, and conveys the point of your story. Use strong, compelling language to grab the reader’s attention.
Review headlines of articles the publication has already shared online. Try to craft a similar headline to match their preferences.
Include the Date and Location
Let the reader know when the press release should be printed. If you want media outlets to share it right away, include the phrase “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE.”
Mention your company’s location. This will establish relevance to ensure you reach the right audience.
Simplify the Lede
The lede is your press release’s opening paragraph. A strong lede should include the five W’s, whcih quickly provide essential information. The five W’s are:
- Who the story is about
- What’s happening
- When it will occur
- Where it’s happening
- Why it’s important
Make sure the writing is clear and concise. Try to eliminate industry jargon, which can confuse readers.
Provide Context
After the lede paragraph, provide readers with essential information. Include these details in descending order of importance. If journalists need to trim the text, they’ll start from the bottom and work their way up.
Make sure the writing is clear and straightforward. Don’t write an exhaustive history of the company’s past accomplishments. Instead, focus on the present or future to ensure relevance.
Avoid hyperbolic language. You won’t grab a journalist’s attention with embellishments. Only state the facts.
Review your press release to remove overly promotional language. Instead, try to maintain an objective, informative tone.
Journalists are more likely to share a press release that provides helpful, valuable information. They may not publish the release if it reads like an ad.
Include Quotes and Imagery
A relevant, compelling quote can provide your press release with credibility. Choose a speaker who is important to the story, such as the company’s CEO. Include with the speaker’s name and position at the company.
Enhance your press release by adding relevant imagery. This includes charts, graphs, photos, or illustrations.
Use branded imagery to increase brand awareness. Using stock photography could make your brand appear inauthentic.
Add the Boilerplate
Sign off at the end of the press release to indicate the end. Common options include “XXX,” “###,” and “-30-“. Determine what’s standard for your industry.
After the sign-off, add a short biography for your business. This should read as a condensed version of your website’s “About” page. This boilerplate text will rarely change between different press releases.
Proofread
Consider having someone else read your press release before distributing it to media outlets. Check for:
- Typos
- Grammatical errors
- Inconsistencies
- Inaccuracies
- Poor formatting
Mistakes can diminish your brand’s credibility. They can also reduce the likelihood that journalists will publish the release.
Share on Social Media
Once you finalize and share your press release, share the published release on your blog or through social media.
Social media marketing will help you generate more brand visibility. It gives you a chance to engage with your target audience in real-time.
According to Sprout research, nearly 90% of businesses agree companies that don’t invest in social media marketing will get left behind. However, only 33% of PR professionals use social media tools daily. Meanwhile, 48% use social media as their primary external communication channel.
Social media is almost as commonly used as word-of-mouth and TV or radio ads for learning about businesses. One in three consumers say it’s their preferred way to learn about brands. About 80% expect brands to interact with customers in meaningful ways using social media.
Press Release Tips
Journalists don’t receive every press release they receive in their inbox. Here are a few press release tips you can use to ensure your success.
Outsource for Successful Press Releases
Learning how to properly write, format, and distribute press releases can take time. Consider outsourcing to avoid making costly mistakes. Otherwise, journalists may decide to publish another company’s release.
An experienced PR writing and distribution company can ensure your press releases are properly formatted. They can optimize your releases for SEO to improve your online rankings.
Choose a company that has professional connections with various media outlets and journalists. They can leverage their connections to ensure you reach your ideal audience. You can appear on multiple news outlets to generate more brand visibility.
Measure the Impact
Once a publication shares your press release, monitor the media mentions and coverage you receive. Keep track of where your press release is published to:
- Measure your reach/brand visibility
- Determine which outlets are most responsive
- Develop connections with journalists
- Measure our website traffic
- Track your search engine rankings
Identify key performance indicators (KPIs) that align with your goals. For example, perhaps you want to generate more website traffic. Track your website’s unique visitors and note which publication they came from.
Improve Your Media Outreach Strategy Today
A strong media outreach strategy can help you generate brand visibility, recognition, and trust. Building brand trust can help you gain long-term, loyal customers. Use these tips to craft successful press releases today.
Remember, you don’t have to do it alone. Our team at eReleases can provide access to an exclusive database of subscribed journalists.
We have a proven track record with major news outlets. Trust us to write, optimize, and distribute your releases to 1.7 million journalists. Contact us today to start your order!