Press Releases Archives - Making Every Word Count

8 Ways to Leverage Search in Press Releases

It should come as no surprise that with the transition towards a digital distribution model for news delivery, the importance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has only grown. It simply must play a role in any digital public relations campaign. This is hardly a revolutionary thought. What makes this task a challenge, however, is the fact that the factors behind how search engines work keep changing, and the fact that you just have to think a little differently when writing a press release. It is no longer reasonable to simply try and write the best announcement – you must think about SEO as part of the process.

Take Google’s latest Hummingbird algorithm update. Many public relations leverage keyword linking as part of their SEO strategy. Now, keyword relevance has declined in importance, at least according to searches performed in Google. What is more important now are search “phrases” as said in conversation. Google is now placing more relevance on conversation queries, and how they can be best addressed from within a search engine window (ideally from a mobile device). Here are a couple of good articles: FAQ: All About The New Google “Hummingbird” Algorithm and How Google’s Hummingbird Update Impacts a PR Agency.

The take away is that you need to either invest the time to educate yourself on the latest trends impacting search engine optimization, or need to hire someone to do so.

Here are 8 other suggestions on how to best optimize your search engine placement, resulting in better awareness and exposure for your press releases that are issued as part of a public relations campaign:

Be sure to pay the fee and publish your press releases through a news distribution service, such as Business Wire or Marketwire. The ones that offer a “linked” online presence is best. Your story will simply be viewed more times and seen as more relevant via Google, Yahoo and other news search engines.
Use good content in your Press Releases, and publish a copy of the release on your website
Offer a .pdf of your press release, optimized for SEO, on the same page to help maximize your online footprint; .pdf files are indexed just like an .html page
Integrate this release page with other content that someone might want to read after finishing reading the press release, to further engage them on your topic
Offer a registration page at some point during the process to then follow up with these visitors
Write a complementary blog post on a similar topic, to then offer further content and support for those seeking to learn more about the news event you published
Leverage any free PR distribution sites, especially if they offer HTML linked keyword submissions
Broadcast the issuing of your press releases by the social media channels best for your audience so your followers get first notification, which will then also help your search engine rankings

As is typically the case with disruptive innovations, the scope of change is often wider than originally conceived at the point of inception. In a paper-based news world, the only distribution options were paid subscriptions and walk-up sales at newsstands. In a digital world, news is found in many different locations in different ways, which includes the searching of relevant topics by keywords. In this world, SEO plays an important, continuing role to ensure messages are heard in a timely manner, by the right audience. In fact, I would argue through a better distribution model that is more efficient than the world has ever seen.

Gordon Benzie is a marketing and public relations professional, and a business plan adviser, that specializes in preparing and executing business plans and marketing strategies.

Are Paper-based Communications Dead?

Paper-based media has long played a prominent role as a way to communicate. Go back in time, however, and it could be classified as a disruptive invention. Stone tablets, monuments, and cave walls used to be the only options for non-verbal communications and had done so for thousands of years. Then the Egyptians created Papyrus, which became the new medium to tell a story. This invention dramatically expanded an author’s sphere of influence.

Today a similar transformation is underway. The digitization of communications and knowledge is having a similar, dramatic effect on how stories are told. Access and speed to information have been radically changed – news stories now break in minutes – which has greatly changed how public relations and media professionals work. Marketers must now decide if it is worthwhile to pursue paper-based news publications. How should you grapple with leveraging online PR while not impacting your existing paper-based communications’ effectiveness?

In order to address this question, the right “textbook” answer is to talk with your target audience. What do they currently read? How do they get their news?

Unfortunately, this can be a difficult question to answer. The reason is that the process of how we get our news today has also changed. It is more than simply replacing paper with digital.

A Historical Perspective on Getting the News

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, the way many of us got our news was by listening to Walter Cronkite, Peter Jennings, and other news anchormen. They created a predictable framework for us to stay current with the news. CNN changed everything by offering news 24/7.

Twitter and social media took this change to a whole new level. Now we learn about news “nugget by nugget.” If a breaking story occurs, those of us with smartphones get tweets, texts, or alerts within minutes of the event. Others get news every time they open a web browser or have a spare 10 minutes, or by still reading the paper over breakfast in the morning. As a result, the answer to the question of “Where do you get your news?” becomes complex – there is no one answer. It comes from a wide variety of sources, which can change from week to week.

Where Does Your Audience Get Their News?

As a marketer, this diversity of sources means that public relations outreach just got more complicated. The way your audience gets news has become highly fragmented. And, they have less time to allocate to any single activity. As a result, your marketing communications strategy now must span multiple sources – paper and online – in an attempt to include each of the publications and venues your audience might come in contact with.

It should also now be apparent that traditional methods have lost at least some of their effectiveness. That is why all the big newspapers have invested in building their online presence. Those that don’t will simply be left behind.

New approaches are needed to cut through the clutter to gain the attention of your audience, at which point they can then be in a position to actually hear what you have to say. When viewed in this light, it is no wonder why public relations professionals have embraced social media as a way to cut through the noise and get their message to a specific target audience. The type of medium isn’t so much of a problem as getting the attention of your audience.

Gordon Benzie is a marketing and communications professional with 20+ years of experience working for startups, large enterprises, and private clients.

The Public Relations Transformation

A transformation is underway with public relations The role of a public relations today has changed from what it was a decade ago. Interestingly, in the same way that the Internet has completely changed how we book airline reservations, execute stock trades and write letters, its impact on journalism and public relations has also been nothing short of phenomenal. Those of you who have worked in public relations during this transformation might now think the industry has spiraled completely out of control! Some might even argue that it is now at risk of losing its relevance.

I come from a different perspective. To start, I wasn’t a journalist prior to my current role in the industry. Instead, I began my career in finance as an accountant. After moving my way up the corporate ladder, I found a passion for marketing, which is a discipline I have now been practicing for nearly 15 years.

From what I can gather about the “early” days of PR, strict lines were drawn between what news was published, how it was distributed as well as the role that the newspapers and magazines played in getting the story out to the general public. For example, press releases used to be written just for editors and others working at news publications. It was then at their discretion as to what was printed and deemed sufficiently “newsworthy” to publish.

The Internet changed all of that. Now anyone can post any press release on a website, and with a little effort, can get their release picked up by other aggregator sites. In the end, their target market can find out about their news by simply doing a Google or Yahoo! Search by keywords. This is a completely different news distribution model, and has transformed the role of today’s Public Relations practitioner.

Given the relative ease of publishing content, the value of a public relations professional has now become more about managing that content, driving the direction of what new stories can be told about the topic as well as getting the “right” placements that matter most in the eyes of the public. After all, not all placements are created equal.

It’s a New World

With the breakdown in structure of the “old” model, traditional news organizations have lost some of their power – many more approaches now exist to tell us the news, ranging from tweets to YouTube to a myriad of news aggregation sites and the search engines. But, as the dust settles, I would argue that the traditional news media still have a “trump” card that should be played, and that of trusting their experience and knowledge to report the news accurately and fairly. Unfortunately, it appears that some organizations are not able to embrace this philosophy or execute upon it with 100% success.

We are all quite familiar with the recent events transpiring during the Boston bombing incident on April 16 where false news reports had to be retracted, based on the desire for CNN to be the “first” to break an angle of the story. Clearly this type of news reporting is less than ideal. But, on the upside is the fact that nearly anyone can write about a news event, or a story they deem as newsworthy. And, those with camera phones have given us unbelievable footage of news right as it is happening.

Meanwhile, from a marketer’s perspective, this changing of the guard brings new opportunities for “earned” vs. “paid” placements. It is amazing the amount of exposure that is now possible by applying Search Engine Optimization, cross linking and blog support. Alternatively, from an “end user’s” perspective, I sometimes struggle with how to best stay current with the day’s events as well as knowledge on my craft. But, I am getting better, and the proliferation of smart phones has certainly made it much easier to stay on top of the news that matters most to me.

The question to ask is what is your objective? Here is where my thinking like a marketer has helped my career in public relations. I continue to filter my actions into what can best support my client’s or company’s public relations objectives. If a goal is to position a company as a thought leader in a particular industry, then those are the only types of stories I should pursue. My “news” will then be focused on reinforcing that objective, be it through press releases, contributed articles or quotes in third-party stories, etc. In this regard, public relations is the same as it has always been. What has changed is the rules. The number of venues, distribution channels and publication options has increased exponentially, which is both a blessing and a curse. The complexity and volume of work has skyrocketed, but so too have the opportunities for success. Given all of this incredible increase in complexity, focus has instead turned on just getting a story out and getting it placed. The journalistic quality of articles has sometimes been given a back seat.

Is this a best case scenario? Perhaps not. For me, my goal is to strive to be better, including how I write and the quality of my stories. But, in the end, it is all about getting the word out there so my prospective customers have a favorable impression of my company, ideally just before being engaged with a sales representative from my company. Improved, positive familiarity with the brand helps to facilitate a better sales opportunity and a higher likelihood of closing. Those public relations professionals that embrace this new role and focus on achieving this objective will do well. Those that are frustrated with this transformation and still public relations as being more akin to being a news reporter might not be as well suited for the role of today’s public relations professionals.

Please let me know if you agree, disagree or have any other comments to add to this topic!

Gordon Benzie is a marketing communications professional and business model adviser that specializes in preparing and executing upon business plans and marketing strategies. Gordon can be found on Google+.

Did Labor Unions Really Kill the Twinkie?

The nostalgia world may never be the same after the events from earlier this month. After 88 years, Hostess, the makers of Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Wonder Bread, is going out of business. According to the story that ran on NBC.com, the CEO blames the unions, which made the decision to go on strike as part of the latest round of labor negotiations. The company has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings for the past 10 months or so. Last week it was announced that all assets will be liquidated, resulting in about 18,000 employees losing their jobs – certainly an unfortunate turn of events.

When I first read this news story, it struck me as interesting how strong the focus was about the role that the Labor unions played in “bringing down” the company. Since the labor unions would not accept new lower salaries, the only choice CEO Gregory Rayburn had was to shut down the company.

That is one way to tell the story.

Another angle is that the company failed to adjust to the times. Over the past decade or so, eating habits changed – the focus today is on eating healthier foods. Given this trend, it is not surprising that a company such as Hostess began having problems, given its product line. I don’t think anyone will argue that the nutritional value of a Twinkie is not too high … according to info published on Livestrong.com. At 150 calories per Twinkie, it has 4.5 g of fat, 20 mg of calcium, 20 mg of cholesterol and 19 g of sugar, equivalent to almost 5 tsp. Double each of these figures for the typical way this product is sold, as a two pack. Other Hostess products don’t fare much better.

This brings me to my point. When you are crafting a story for the press to cover as a business communications or news announcement, there are many options on how to pitch it. Seldom is there just one story. In this case, perhaps the Hostess CEO and management team sought to blame the unions for the downfall of their iconic institution in order to deflect a different line of questioning – such as what were you doing about new product introductions a decade ago when this trend first became obvious? A few days later, more details began to emerge indicating that maybe there were other issues impacting sales. Clearly their cost structure was not well aligned to revenue. It might be that there is no business model that could work for these products today; however, a story focused on that theme wouldn’t do well to help the company find a new suitor. When faced with these alternative stories, portraying the problem on the unions was probably the best way for them to deflect blame while keeping the door open to a new buyer that believes they can address the labor issue.

When you have a business communication to address, sometimes you get to choose what the lead in story and news will be – more often if you proactively make an announcement or hold a press conference. If this is the case, best to take advantage of this opportunity. Other crisis communications, such as an oil drilling platform explosion and fire, can’t really be modified to give it a good “spin.” Over time, if your story has more to it, then it is most likely that the rest of the story will follow. But, it will be secondary to the original announcement, which might just buy you some time to get through your crisis, should you have to experience this type of announcement.

Gordon Benzie is a marketing adviser and business plan writer that specializes in preparing and executing upon business plans and marketing strategies.

5 Questions to Ask Before Writing a Press Release

In the world of marketing communications, writing a press release plays an important role in disseminating information about your company or product. Most importantly, if done correctly, a press release will get other websites, news sources and editors to communicate your message as a third party, important from a validation perspective. The more times your message is told, the better chance your target audience can receive your message.

So, before you sit down to write your press release, ask yourself these five important questions:

What is the news I am announcing? There must be something you are announcing that comprises the “news” of the announcement. It isn’t ok to just regurgitate existing content from your website, collateral or brochures. There must be something newsworthy to announce, such as a new product, customer or region, an award or a management change. This requirement can sometimes be a challenge, but, if you don’t have any news to announce, no one will be interested to read your press release.
Who are you writing your announcement to? In other words, who is the target audience or “persona” of your press release? Traditionally, press releases were written for the press; these documents would then become a basis for writing an article summarizing the announcement, or might be a trigger to write a more detailed perspective on the announcement. Today, this is not necessarily the case. Many press releases are now issued directly to the public via news websites. You need to think about whom the person is that you want to read your release. For example, just to name a few, are they engineers, teachers, business leaders or IT programmers?
What are the 3 points of the story? Unless you specifically focus your thoughts on what these key messages are, chances are your target audience won’t get the right message.
What do you want your readers to do next? In other words, once you have identified your topic and audience … in a perfect world … what you would like them to do next? Go to your website? Attend a conference? Purchase your latest book? How is this announcement going to help your business? How will you sell more product or service, as a result of this announcement? Think about what your desired call to action is, and then ask for it, or point readers in a direction so they come up with your desired action as a logical conclusion after reading the announcement.
Could my mother understand this release? In other words, is it filled with industry jargon, abbreviations and other difficult words to understand, or, is your message clearly stated using terminology that is understandable to most readers? This question may appear to be in contradiction to item #2 above … if I am writing for a technical audience, isn’t it ok to write in a technical manner? Yes, and no. It is a reasonable assumption that if you are announcing technical news for technical readers, then some level of technical wording is probably appropriate. But, the flip side is that you also want other editors and websites to host your story. The person in charge of deciding if your press release goes on their site may not be very technical. If your release is too confusing, they will simply elect to “pass” and go on to the next news announcement. In the end, your press release must make sense to the laymen, regardless of target audience.

What do you think? Have I missed any other critical questions?

Gordon Benzie is a marketing adviser and business plan writer that specializes in preparing and executing upon business plans and marketing strategies.