The press release is all but dead

What should you do with your PR activities in order not to stay behind?

The PR industry seems to be awaiting the death of the paper press release with such impatience as it has been waiting for the “legendary” Mobile Age. But what happened that the press release– the former primary tool of keeping journalists informed — is losing its importance so rapidly? The answer is simpler than you think — in the digital era, people can’t be bothered to read it anymore.

The information bubble is to blame for this. It’s no longer the case that journalists have to search and dig deep for topics, and new opinion leaders usually have nothing to do with journalism. These days, it’s not necessary to have a media title to gather a loyal group of readers.

A social form of a press release

This shift has its ups and downs. On the one hand, it has an influence on media relations making it more difficult, but on the other, it became easier to reach the end-user with our message. That is why the press release has transformed and gained more of a social character.

The thing is that a social press release should be structured in a different way than a regular one. Two keys to success are useful content and attractive form. Those are the factors to which online readers pay the most attention.

More quality, less quantity

An effective press release should deliver the basic facts, figures, insights and information about a brand or product. All done in an interesting way, covered with quotes, photos or videos to make it more appealing. All these factors serve as the basis for a story, an article or an interview.

But great content is one thing — its distribution is something altogether different, and it should be well-thought-out and well-planned. No matter the strategy, you should keep in mind that mass distribution of press releases is in decline. Lists with a lot of links to sites are not effective and don’t really spark much interest from reporters — that’s why it’s better to leave it for a coverage report for your boss or client.

The truth is, Google is getting more and more restrictive with positioning. Duplicating content between multiple channels will not make you more visible — it will rather work the other way around. That’s why avoid a 1:1 reprint of your content because it may only hurt your visibility. Always re-write, re-design and re-create your message — in this context, the ‘new’ approach to media relations is actually not new at all. Personalized content sent to journalists brings better outcome, increasing your chances of publication.

Having a well-selected group of journalists is a must, and combining it with personal contact with them is a win. At the end of the day, one thing that counts is avoiding mass distribution of the same content.

Owned media supersedes traditional media

Traditional media can still have some effects, but building brand awareness through owned media will take you to a whole different level. The latter becomes a more attractive alternative for getting attention. In order to maximize a press release’s potential, it has to be aimed directly at customers through owned communication channels.

Nowadays, brands tend to move from traditional and ineffective PR tools to their own channels which help them present their whole story and adjust it to their customer’s needs. Brand journalism is content written in a journalistic style, designed to narrate brand’s stories in an engaging way. The global pioneers of brand journalism are companies like IBM, Intel, McDonald’s, General Electric or Microsoft.

What you see depends on where you sit

Looking at the communication of the largest brands it’s easy to come to the conclusion that the traditional form of public relations is just a drop in the sea of corporate communication needs. The definition of PR evolved thanks to technological advancement and is now strongly dependent on it.

Those who won’t get with this change will stay in the same place — but for some time now, staying in the same place has been equivalent to going backwards.

Written by Joanna Drabent, CEO & Co-Founder of Prowly, PR specialist by profession. Worked on both sides — the agency and client alike. Joanna also managed her own agency, where the idea of Prowly has been born.

Prowly is a set of PR software tools designed to help you build audiences around companies, brands and people.

Our intuitive PR tools make it easier to manage media relations, create great content and pitch your stories to relevant audiences. How? Find out at prowly.com