Nearly 2,000 press releases are distributed each day, and for companies eager to share their news, a press release strategy makes sense. Press releases are professionally written, provide boosted SEO results on Google, are distributed to reporters across the nation and give companies the ability to control their messaging.
While important in an overall PR strategy, press releases are also expensive, time consuming and “easy” press coverage. There’s so much more to your story than what goes across the wire. When looking to make waves with news that directly supports business strategy, you should look a little further than a press release to share your company news. Here are three steps to get you thinking beyond the press release:
1. Show and Tell
Everyone’s favorite part of grade school, right? It was a break from the structured curriculum to interact, experience and learn about something new. The same should be considered for your business. Show and tell your news through video marketing, engaging social media content, data-digestible infographics and videos to capture your audience’s attention beyond text-only. And, reporters love engaging content they can easily draw a story from.
2. Go Small for Big Results
When targeting reporters for a news story, the first stop is usually national media. Everyone (rightfully so!) wants to be included in national coverage and may even have a few publications in mind on the media bucket list. But don’t discount the smaller publications – like the local, daily newspaper – with your story. Reporters at these pubs crave a local news angle and their stories are often inspiration for national publications. What might start as a local newspaper story could land you a CEO profile in a national magazine.
3. Aim for Earned Media
Earned media is the pinnacle of quality PR. Having a PR agency or internal team that works on crafting positive and long-term relationships with reporters is invaluable. When news and announcements break, your company’s core group of “friendly” journalists will be the go-to resources for earned media coverage that is authentic, honest and credible. Remember, what reporters say about your company is just as valuable and important as what your company is publishing about itself.
Press releases are still important to a publicity strategy, but the efforts shouldn’t stop there – your company has a much larger story to tell than 500 words over a newswire could ever explain!
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