The Press Release Is Dead. Long Live The Press Release.

William J. Comcowich, president and CEO, CyberAlert, had a great op-ed in a recent edition of The Bulldog Reporter's Daily Dog, a leading public relations publication. In addition to his points below, we'd like to add that the audiences of press releases have increased greatly. As Mr. Comcowich notes, many PR professionals tend to focus on the media. That's because not all that long ago, a press release (or news release) was seen pretty much by the sender (a PR practitioner) and the recipient(s) (the intended reporters and editors).

Now, not only is the distribution more broad, your actual words -- not the story written by a reporter -- are available to millions.

A freelance reporter recently stated that press releases should die...all reporters want or need is a fact sheet. If reporters and editors were still our only audience, we might agree. However, given that we are now able to tell our story directly not only to reporters, but to customers, shareholders and others interested in our companies, missing the opportunity doesn't make much sense.

As noted below, optimization helps every potentially interested party find you. Good advice.

Is the Press Release Dead? Not if Yours Is Optimized for Internet Distribution

Instead of heralding the death of the press release, online media and search engine optimization may signal rebirth of “jargon” in releases—and boost pickup. Here’s how it’s done.

Many PR professionals focus their press release placement efforts on newspapers. And that’s fine… yesterday. But such a single-minded approach misses significant, new opportunities to expand news release readership. Simply put: Media has changed. And press-release placement tactics need to change, as well.

Here’s why: Major Internet news sources such as Google, Yahoo, Lycos, AOL, Excite and MyWay have daily visitor counts that far exceed the circulation of most newspapers. 

The most certain path to news release placement on well-trafficked Internet news sites is using a leading press release distribution service such as Business Wire (www.businesswire.com). Placement on Internet sites, however, is only the first step in generating readership.

While readers of print pubs browse headlines to determine what to read, Internet readers are more likely to find information they want through key word searches—either within individual websites or through a news search engine. As most PR readers know, key words are those words or phrases prospective customers would most likely enter into a search engine to find information about subjects of interest.

To achieve maximum readership on the Internet, a press release must contain the specific key words the targeted audience would use to search for information on the subject. A press release targeted at engineers, for instance, should include the specialized jargon that engineers use to describe the product. A press release targeted at consumers should include the most likely words that consumers use to describe either the product category or specific brands. A manufacturer of large screen TVs, for example, would include key words or phrases such as “large screen television,” “large screen TV,” “plasma screen,” “projection television,” “DLP,” “LCD,” “HDTV” and probably many more.

To optimize a press release for the Internet, make sure the key words appear somewhere—anywhere—in the news release. Your most important key word should be in the headline and/or first paragraph. If possible, use the key word or phrase at least twice in a 500-word news release.

You can identify key words or phrases by analyzing the company’s marketing literature, analyzing competitors’ Web pages and news releases, reviewing recent feature articles about the subject, asking customers or customer service representatives what words they use to search, and by using a key-word finder like Wordtracker (www.wordtracker.com). 

It used to be verboten to mention a competitor in a news release. But consumers often use company and brand names as their key words in conducting news searches. Including competitor names and brands in news releases can now be advantageous in achieving greater readership on the Internet.

For releases on technical and medical subjects, it may be worthwhile to issue two different releases—one to consumer-oriented news sources and one to news sources for specialists such as engineers. Optimize each release with key words for the specific target audience.

The point: Optimizing key words and phrases is the new, right way to increase readership of press releases and optimize return on investment—despite most PR pros’ now-dated resistance to such practices as plugging “jargon” into releases and citing competitors within copy.

Comments

[Amy Gahran]

Hi.

You wrote, "A freelance reporter recently stated that press releases should die...all reporters want or need is a fact sheet. If reporters and editors were still our only audience, we might agree. However, given that we are now able to tell our story directly not only to reporters, but to customers, shareholders and others interested in our companies, missing the opportunity doesn't make much sense."

Hmmm, perhaps you might be referring to something I wrote: "Let's Put Press Releases Out of their Misery"
- http://snipurl.com/lip5

You make an interesting point. Namely, companies can now reach people directly -- the same people they used to have to rely on the media to reach at all.

Given that, what you're talking about publishing is no longer a "press release," (since it's not intended for journalists and the media), but rather simply *your own news.*

I agree that anything a company publishes, including its own news and announcements, should be optimized for search engines and other services. You offer several good tips on that front, so I'll be mentioning your article to my readers.

James Clark at Room 214 (another Boulder-based marketing firm) uses the term "search release" to refer to news releases that are optimized for search engines, which I think is an interesting and extremely relevant concept.

However, I do still think that the traditional press release format is generally stodgy and lacks credibility even when well written. Therefore, I think it's even *less* appropriate for a general audience (or a business audience) than for an audience of journalists and editors.

Now, that's my opinion, and I realize others disagree with me.

Instead, I would encourage PR professionals to think in terms of crafting stories that offer real value to the target audience, rather than "releases." It's a subtle conceptual difference, but it can make a world of difference in connecting with your target audience.

Of course, it's still important to be transparent -- clearly state who's publishing the article, give relevant contact info and links (as specific as possible is best), and provide background facts or context as needed.

Fortunately, on the internet, there's plenty of room to experiment with format.

Anyway, thanks for continuing the discussion on this interesting topic. I think you've made a valuable contribution here, even though we disagree on some points.

- Amy Gahran
RightConversation.com
Contentious.com

[Amy Gahran]

Hi again

Just a heads-up: I've followed up on your article with a posting to one of my blogs, Contentious.com.

See: "Rethinking Releases: Who's Your Audience?"
- http://snipurl.com/lirs

Thanks. I hope we get a chance to continue this conversation.

- Amy Gahran
Contentious.com
RightConversation.com

[Doyle Albee]

Amy:

You're right...I was thinking of you when I wrote this. I wasn't aware of your posting (sorry, I usually keep up with your blog!) but remembered a conversation we had after a panel you participated in at the Denver Press Club last fall.

We, too, look forward to continuing the conversation. Thanks for the thoughtful post.

Doyle Albee
Metzger Associates