5 Ways To Kill The Press Release
I’ve waited almost two years to pull the trigger on a post about the death of the traditional press release. Why? Because for the longest time, I thought it was just hype. Now that I’ve made the rounds speaking at PR, marketing and journalism events and conferences I am convinced – it’s time to face the music.
No one likes to write them.
No one likes to receive them.
No one likes to read them.
In 1906, the press release was born out of necessity. It was actually very high-tech back in the day, serving as a “plug-and-play” for journalists who wished to typeset the text right into their newspaper article. With the internet came the ability to “simultaneously distribute” press information, which led to where we are today – an antiquated way of communicating news and announcements. But there is hope for the future, as long as we ditch the traditional methods and get savvy. Here’s how:
1. Stop writing for your CEO and start writing for your audience.
Anytime someone criticizes the “death of the traditional press release” idea, they always point to good writing being the solution. But if you’re writing what the corporate mandate dictates, you’re likely missing the point.
Beth Mansfield, Director of Public Relations at CKE Restaurants is masterful at writing for the Carls Jr.’s key demographic, an 18 to 34-year-old male. Headlines like, “Badda Bing, Badda Boom: Carl’s Jr. Goes Italian With New Parmesan Chicken Sandwich” or “Bourbon: It’s Not Just for Breakfast Anymore” are written for who they’re trying to reach, their consumer.
“The days of a dry, boring product press release are gone. We keep Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s guests coming back by having innovative products. We have to be innovative and engaging in our press releases. By speaking to our target audience of young, hungry guys in our press release, we encourage dialogue and see far broader pick up of our product news,” said Mansfield.
If the goal is SEO, then don’t bother trying to write to your audience. If the goal is to be engaging and to get readers to share and talk about your content, then write what you would want to read. What the SEO gurus don’t tell you is that Facebook has already surpassed Google and now drives more traffic to key sites than Google. This means that soon, a well shared post will be just as important as an “SEO optimized” robotic headline and subhead that is heavy on the keyword links.
Besides, the logic is simple: You can’t make a press release social. Traditional, AP-style press releases just aren’t conversational. You can’t cram a bunch of text and a word doc into twitter and expect it to play. Companies are now driving sales through social interaction with consumers. That’s a metric we can leverage.
2. Include shareable content
If your producing a traditional press release and then adding an image or a video, make sure those assets are shareable. What is the purpose of including assets if a journalist or blogger can’t use them? Many wire services offer multimedia up-sell options, but few of them actually allow you to embed video from YouTube or photos from Flickr. This is part of the social media integration I always talk about. And one of the big differences between traditional and social releases.
Tom Foremski proclaimed in a recent post, “Why are people unable to understand the value of putting links into PR copy? Do they know how to create a link and embed it in their copy?”
3. Throw out the traditional metrics
So, you’re measuring the success of your PR efforts by calculating the publications ad value equivalent? Hmm. Makes sense, since the traditional advertising model is working so well…Yikes.
There are a million…okay, a hundred social media monitoring sites out there. Start tracking how your release travels and performs across the social web. Stop relying on services that autopost your content on “downstream websites” as proof of performance.
4. Stop using Word
Seems simple, but it’s a buzz kill from the get-go.
“Sweet, I’ve completed my document and now I have a file attachment to send around. People love downloading files, right?”
Sound silly? Is it you? At the risk of sounding “salesy,” get on PitchEngine and create a shareable, social release from the start. Hundreds of PR firms are already making the complete switch away from Microsoft Office to our cloud-based platform. Think of it this way, you wouldn’t create a post in Word and then copy and paste it into Facebook would you? (If you answered, “Yes,” please disregard #4 entirely).
5. Be creative
As PR professionals, brand managers or entrepreneurs, we should be passionate about what we’re pitching. If we’re not, we should be honest. Either way, if there is an “easy button” in the PR process, don’t push it. Be creative and you will be rewarded.
Andrew Fowler uses humor to break the ice with journalist friends and potential PR contacts.
“Think of the press release as the Ring in Lord of the Rings. Remember what happened to Gollum? He got super ugly and went nuts. Poor Frodo suffered too but look how happy he (and everyone) was when he finally destroyed the Ring in the depths of Mt. Doom. Rid yourself of the Ring (press release) and it will open up all kinds of possibilities to do interesting, creative and humorous things with your PR content,” explains Fowler.
Think about the pitch as the new release. Make it tasty, but concise. Too much of a good thing is too much. We’ve already discovered that social media releases on PitchEngine are more engaging than traditional releases shared on the wires (Alexa.com)
If you give any of these methods a try, you’re going to begin to see the light. If you’re worth your salt as a PR pro, you have built relationships with journalists, bloggers and consumers in one form or another. Why subject them to a half-hearted effort by pushing them a press release? Send them something they can sink their teeth into and you’ll see your success multiply.
6. What would you add?
How else can we kill the traditional release, once and for all? Leave your suggestions for number 6 below.
And follow me: @jasonkintzler for continuing discussion.
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Jason, you left out the most important part.News is GRANULAR. There is no need to build up to a “release,” and no need to wait until you fill the page. News is a river, it’s no longer a Polaroid of the river.
And to add recent comic from Andrew Fowler (@guhmshoo)http://www.newsvetter.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/cafenewswire.png
There are typos and spelling errors in your post.
Thanks, Audrey. Well sed.
Fowler told me about this post as he and I share similar, clutter-breaking tastes. You might find this of interesthttp://www.goelastic.com/theblog/index.php/2010/03/kill-the-traditional-news-…
Indeed, Jason, your premise is unwise as there is no better medium through which to reach a waiting reporter as a press release via facsimile to the reporters who wait with baited breath for our story-changing news releases. You may want to go back to school young man.
Lauren, you’re right. If only I would show more respect to the craft.
My apologies but aside from my rugged good looks, dashing mustache and body odor that smells of bacon grease and fear — I should have offered that I obviously agree wholeheartedly with your premise. But I guess that was apparent via the link. About 90 percent of reporters I speak with tell me they have little to no interest in releases and that they even question the date on most releases. Nice post…..and thicken up the ‘stache with no chin coverage. Carry on.
@Aaron I loved that post, saw it when it dropped actually. We don’t vet content like wires, only provide a platform. Who are we to produce the “news” anyway? I hear you on the stache…might improve my follower count.
I don’t think the release is dead, it just needs to be changed & not be cookie cutter. Write with purpose.
But Ann-Marie, there is one thing to consider:The world of the news release isn’t one where good content naturally bubbles to the top. Great writing will always be a differentiator, but in this case the entire channel is being shut off by people tired of wading through crap to find diamonds (or even diamonelles.)The function behind the release will remain intact. But I’m not so sure it’s flexible enough to meet future needs, nor accepted by the audience for whom it’s intended.
I agree with what you say but to be honest we haven’t been writing many press releases for years…We do them here and there, (if that’s what the media needs, but usually as the precursor for a much deeper conversation with a journalist which will lead to something ‘a bit’ special) The VAST bulk of our work has been about engaging with the audience (directly) or the media that talks to them and ensuring that we provide what they need and value in a way that suits and excites them..PR professionals worth their salt have always been sensitive to the needs of the end-user and finessed their approach to match. This is nothing new..social media is yet another opportunity for those of us committed to doing this.
Amen, Louise. You are in the minority, but in the majority of “worth their salters!”
Love. this. My last press release had two current Twitter #hastags listed and nine links to click. I write my releases in my speaking voice and find they get to the people who would like my events. Which are the people I want there. Brilliant, thanks for the great read. @cleverkate
Very clever, Kate
Sorry to keep chiming in but enjoying this ongoing discussion. We actually dislike press releases so much so that the last time we sent one out announcing a new hire — representing the lowest form of press releases — that we decided to try to make it the dumbest news release ever with quotes from some of our friends in the social media sphere. You can see it here:http://www.goelastic.com/theblog/index.php/2010/03/social-media-leaders-slack...
Ok, I’ll bite. You know one of the industries I am targeting – the outdoors. Most of my audience is old. yes, old. So to say “heck with the press release” to these guys is unfathomable to me, and they aren’t on Twitter and are just now getting on Facebook. My other targeted industry is the cable industry: younger crowd, more hip. But when DISH Network launches new channels, what do they do? Send a press release to Multichannel News. It is still the fastest way to get your news out. HOWEVER, I will preface that the people I send releases to I already have an established relationship. And like amvandenhurk said above, write with purpose. If a reporter comes to know your emails as purposeful and not filled w “fluff,” they will open it.
I hear you Michelle. I think it’s easy to assume certain journalists/writers aren’t “social media savvy,” but the truth is, there’s nothing confusing about getting a pitch via a link to a website built around your story (which is a PitchEngine release). No matter the age, it’s safe to say most of them are on the internet. In most cases, getting everything delivered via link is easier to understand the clunky email attachments!The beauty of this – you get to be the one to show them the light!
Some of the best PR advice I’ve ever received was to pick up the phone and call a reporter. You’d be surprised how easy it is to find direct contact information for just about anyone. If I’m sending a release, I send them directly to the targets I think are relevant and use the good old fashioned story idea approach to capture their interest. Not a story idea the client wants to plant, but a story idea that the reporter’s audience is interested in. Then you’ve done two things, you captured a reporter’s interest by making their job easier and you put something out there relevant to the audience.
interesting advice, though i think it is highly limited to certain types of news. won’t help you with a gadget launch, won’t help you as a big company, won’t help you working in conjunction with a large partner, etc.if this were “5 ways startups could avoid using press releases” i think it’d be much more on-target.
Thanks Chris. PR and communications for that matter will always require good relationships. The press release – new or old – has never served as a relationship builder. I just hope PR will stop pushing the “auto” button and continue tactics that hinder, not grow relationships! Thanks for sharing…good old contact is always good.