At the PRII conference this year it was reported that:
From 2010 to 2012, somewhere between 30-50% of broadsheet content stemmed directly from PR activity.
What is also interesting to note is that many organisations are finding that ‘news sites’ will cut and paste their press release without altering it when posting it to their online publication.
This means that knowing how to craft a press release for publication online is becoming even more important if you want to attract traditional and online coverage of your story.
I receive press releases each day from organisations and PR agencies looking to attract my attention in their product or service. Unlike ‘news sites’, I do not cut and paste a press release to create an article. I do however refer to it to help me craft a story so it is really frustrating when the press release arrives as a PFD file.
If you want to engage bloggers or online inflencers there are some very specific actions you need to take to nuture relationships so that they may then consider writing about their experience of your product or service.
Remember to comply with any requirements relating to the country you are marketing in and any specific guidelines for your inductry – for example, if you are in the US or marketing to the US review the FTC advertising guides including the ‘.com Disclosures: How to Make Effective Disclosures in Digital Advertising’. You can see the document at the end of this article.
If you are looking to draft a press release you will find this guide from PR Newswire Asia of interest as it provides some tips on:
– crafting a compelling headline and sub headline
– using images, photographs or other forms of multimedia to support your story
– tips for adding hyper links to your press release
– what to include in your press release including the lead paragraph, the main body of your online press release, media contacts, quotes and your ‘boiler plate’
– including key words and phrases in your online press release for search engine visibility.
For more guidance on online publicity, integrating social media into your online press rooms and influencer marketing, if you are in Ireland, you may want to consider attending the forthcoming Certificate in Social Media for PR Practitioners with the PRII – the next programme starts in September. Or you can contact me if you would like a customised programme for your communications team.
