A lot about press releases has changed – from their audience to their formats. Press releases haven’t been exclusive responsibility for professional press for ages. In reality, many different publics and stakeholders are now valid audiences for media releases. With that brand-new audience has come new challenge for press release materials. Readers want the inherent narrative, they need images, and they want video. They would like to find out more about the subjects of interest for them, and they wish to go through the news, not just read it.

3 Reasons Press Releases Are Relevant

One question remains: Why are press releases are so important, considering the sea of information now available online? There are a few reasons:

1. The sea of information available causes some problems for your audience, in terms of what content can be trusted. Press releases are statements of record for an organization, and as a result, they bring reliability and are perceived as being official, verifiable – by both professional media and the public.
2. Well written press releases tell a story – the who, what, where, when, why and how – within a single message. They are perfect to the ever-diminishing attention span of audiences.
3. Press releases are meant to be reproduced, shared, and quoted, removing any barriers or concerns about copyright that may cause your audience to hesitate.

3 Characteristics of a Strong Press Release

To win and keep attention today, successful content needs to fit the requirements of today’s audiences and how they consume information. Here are some characteristics of successful press releases:

1. Successful messages are built to fit multiple formats. They feature tweetable headlines and factoids, search engine-friendly elements (e.g. keywords, links, etc.), compelling visuals, and landing page that distributes accurately across LinkedIn, Facebook, and other networks.
2. Your audience doesn’t live in one place, and neither should your press releases and other content. Derive one piece of content from another, such as turning a webinar into a series of blog posts, a podcast or video, a PowerPoint presentation or pdf, an infographic – and distribute each accordingly. The modern press release can be similarly atomized.
3. Content needs to interest, inform, or entertain the audience. When determining how to communicate with your audiences consider the outcomes you need to achieve, the actions you want to encourage, and where your audiences live. As you do so, be willing to re-think press releases and other content.

The Lead-Generation Power of Press Releases

Lead generation, for example, has not been the traditional realm of public relations. However, press releases can be very valuable lead-gen tools because of their authority and portability, as well as the simple fact that they tend to be widely shared. They are especially helpful when you have to reach beyond the world of people that you know (e.g. people on your email database along with your Facebook friends) and find new audiences in previously uncharted verticals. Contemplating their specificity, press releases may perform a pretty magnificent job of finding the audience for you. Many services and companies are available on the market, that specialize in press release preparation and distribution. A recently-launched local leads generation and brand awareness platform has been complimented by users for its high-quality press releases, covering all the above-mentioned aspects of a good press release. Check the many options that PRBrics give on the following website: https://prbrics.com/pricing/