Most organisations now prefer to use their social media platforms and websites to reach their audience because it is quicker, more engaging, they can get almost an immediate feedback and they probably reach a greater percentage of their audience. As Jeff Barrett mentioned, "companies are looking to be quicker with content, provide faster approval and be able able to capitalise on the conversation and content of the moment".
But does this mean the press release is dead? Let me state that I am a great advocate of companies going social and I understand majority of people feel that with the presence of a quicker channel of disseminating information (the internet), why would anyone or any organisation still bother themselves with writing old, long and boring press releases.
In my opinion, the press release is not dead! Rather, it is the old, conventional, long and boring way of writing the press release that is dead. Press release also called news release should be direct and state the important elements in 20-30 words. Not only will it make your news release clear and concise, it also increases the chances of the press release getting published because the journalist can easily figure out what your news release is about.
Journalists are bombarded on a daily basis with press releases from various companies so they really don't have time to go through unnecessarily long press releases. In fact, most will prefer a short message sent to them rather than a two-page attachment or better still a telephone call stating what, who, where, when and why. Some don't even bother opening any email with "press release" as the subject and this accounts for the death of so many press releases.
These are some of the reasons why people would argue that the press release is dead. I believe if PR practitioners quit writing 'long stories' and just 'hit the nail on the head' in their press releases, more of those press releases will be published rather than suffering an early death in the journalist's inbox. The press release is not a storybook and should not be treated as such. Rather, it should be clear and straight-forward.
Many organisations still write press releases and there are a million and one reasons why PR practitioners still use the press release. For example, it is possible that not all the organisation's target public are on social media and it is important to be where the target public are. Secondly, it gives the company credibility. Hence, I believe writing press release is just as relevant as updating social network feeds and posting on company's website.
Ok this article is getting long... to summarise all that has been discussed, here are some tips to writing a good press release and also getting journalists to read your news release;
1. Your first paragraph should summarise the important details.
2. You should have at most 3 bullet points (just before the first paragraph) highlighting the crux of press release.
3. Your writing should be clear and concise - no unnecessary jargon.
4. Your press release must have a contact information (name, job title, email, telephone) just in case more information is required.
5. You should have a good title (though journalists end up restructuring the title when the article is published).
6. A top personnel in the organisation should be quoted- this gives the news release credibility.
7. Be creative in the subject of the e-mail.
Hopefully you found this post useful...please feel free to share your views on the topic by dropping a comment below.
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