As the digital juggernaut comes through and leaves the remnants of traditional marketing and PR methods in its wake, it isn’t a surprise that many people are questioning the usefulness of the supposedly dated medium. For something that has been a key point of companies relations with the media and the public for a number of years it’s clear to see that some adjustment might be needed.
Press Releases have not always come in the form that we see them most recently and have changed drastically over the years. They can range from written documents to pre-recorded statements or interviews of audio or video matter. But perhaps the most important aspect is that this medium has been widely available to any company of any size and has been relatively easy to construct and distribute. Whether you are a giant corporation or a small local business there is still a good reason to use a press release and include it in a new approach to your marketing strategy.
Some of the best times to use a press release are when there is a story in the news agenda that you believe your company could comment upon as an expert or would be able to add detail or information to that is missing. As an example, you could be the leading driving schools in the UK and have comments to make the day after the government increases road tax and fuel duty etc. It is commonly used for the announcement of a new product or service, the arrival of a new member of staff, opening of a new branch or the response to a ‘crisis’ that your company has been involved in.
These methods are very common within traditional PR, where you are aiming at, as the name may suggest, more traditional media such as newspapers, magazines and radio. However, there are many constraints to these traditional methods. Most noticeably the inability to have a two-way conversation with the recipient of the news. In a world of instant news and reviews processes such as the traditional press release has become insufficient to handle the continually changing landscape for many situations. This is where digital PR and the ability to cover many content styles and audiences brings its benefit.
There is much more freedom in a piece of digital PR. They can range from simple documents of information, to image filled displays, videos accompanied by audio, infographics, interactive quizzes and much more. Information and advice for small businesses on digital PR can be found across multiple websites of companies happy to share their findings and advice, such as this organic marketing company.
Digital PR is focused at the online audiences and its main aim is to increase visibility of a brand name. These pieces are tailored to the audience as well as the technical aspects of SEO that search engines would be relying upon to help understand the content of the article before serving it to its users. An added benefit of the digital PR approach is that it may even come with the bonus of a link back to your website from who-ever has decided to use the information or content you sent out. These also usually benefit from great surges through being shared across social media, and this is something to keep in mind when creating content that you hope will be easily picked up and taken further by any journalists or publications.
It is far to hard to delve into the expert actions of creating a post for social media or the best way to use social media for a business, but continue to keep these platforms in mind for the new generation of press releases, after all it is where the majority of your audience is.
