There are vast quantities of PR material produced every day, a good chunk of which makes it into the media. PR releases have become an essential editorial too. They provide updated information and story fillers that are indispensable to an editor. Research by Cardiff University found that 54% of news articles in the UK press can be at least partially sourced to PR. The situation is similar in India. Most marketers recognise this and use PR as part of their marketing strategy and literally, hundreds of press releases are generated and sent to the press every day. With so many PR releases hitting the editor’s desk every day, the editor is looking for ones that will make the perfect fit.
- PACKAGING THE INFORMATION
Well written press releases tell the whole story. The story should be crisp and use SEO friendly language (for online publishing). Press releases are meant to be reproduced, shared, and quoted, removing any barriers or concerns about copyright that may cause your audience to hesitate.
- MAKE USE OF REAL-TIME SITUATIONS
With summer approaching, children are out of school, people are travelling, the weather is hot and wedding season will soon start in India – all potential opportunities for marketing. Dussehra / Diwali is often a high volume purchase period. March is the financial year closing and businesses often postpone purchases till April. Does your business tie into any of the seasonal events? A well-worded PR release around the current happenings can give you a more relevant and newsworthy PR.
- SHORT AND SWEET
The success rate of published press releases largely depends on the length of the story. With so many news stories out there, editors simply cannot publish everything that lands on their desks. A shorter story, therefore, allows the editor to more easily find space for it in his/her publication. A short press release also leaves the journalist wanting more information which results in personal contact between the journalist and the client.
- TARGETING
Clever PR content promotion targets those media players, who are uniquely interested in highlighting content they find newsworthy. When contacting the media outlet, make sure you’re contacting the right person. You don’t want to email or call the political editor if you’re looking for the business section. Ensure that your Press Release has a summary that you put in the main body of the email so that she/he can judge its relevance and value.
- USING SOCIAL MEDIA
The great thing about the internet today is that remarkable stories spread on their own (well with a little push) without a lot of spending. The perfect PR can will self propagate on social media. If your ideas, product releases, etc. are not remarkable today, they will languish unfound no matter how much money you spend on traditional PR.