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Basic Information About Press Release
Press releases are an important weapon in the public relations arsenal. It is used to create awareness about services, products, events, awards and anything else they feel the public needs to know about their organization.
Why are Press Releases Important:
- More and more people are using online news sources to find information on products, services, companies and ideas.
- Rapid coverage: No reporters or editors to filter your message. Your coverage would reach the target audience directly.
- Online releases can be tracked -You can get statistics of how many times your press release was accessed or downloaded. With the proper web analytics in place you can track click through to your website too.
- Ongoing promotion: Most services archive releases; so it's an ongoing form of promotion. Search engines may pick up on the release when it is published on other sites. This creates another avenue for people to find you and to possibly improve your search engine rankings through link popularity factors. Journalists love search engines, so even as your release becomes dated, you may be still contacted by them in relation to other stories they are working on.
- Credibility: If a respected media outlet or industry authority picks up your news item and publishes it, the readers of that service will immediately feel that your company is credible - an element vital in turning leads into clients. Credibility will gain the customers confidence and can very easily convince them to purchase your product/ and or service at the same time.
- If you add the press releases to your website and put them into the RSS feed, you increase the visibility of the website.
Before Starting With the Writing
1. Questions to consider before you write a Press Release
- Why the release is being written: to broadcast information, increase business, update target audiences?
- Is your release a "sales pitch" or does it have a "news value"?
- Does the press release contain invaluable or newsworthy information that will be used by the target audience?
- What do you want recipients to take away from the press release?
- What is the support or justification for the information in your press release?
- What results are you looking to achieve with your media release?
- Are you aware of possible pitfalls or areas to avoid?
- How will you distribute the release once it is written?
2. Points to be kept in mind before starting writing the Press Release
- Concise: Editors receive hundreds of press releases a week (perhaps more) and appreciate releases that are brief and to the point.
- Well-written: A good way to ensure your press release ends up in the wastebasket is: bad spelling, poor grammar, and illogical or unsubstantiated claims.
- Factual: Stick to logical and substantiated claims, avoiding statements of belief: we're the best, the cheapest, etc.
- Honest: Avoid the padded quotes by company officers; even if they are experts, they come across as biased. If used, stick to the facts.
- Timely: If your press release isn't topical, consider incorporating it with a recent news event -- but don't stretch it.
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