Press Release Implementation

The often under-rated Press release can be one of the most important direct marketing tools in your arsenal. The implementation of modern press releases can be leveraged for great results; however, the accessibility of such a large audience, and low level of entry for launching a press release - requires a new approach with more targeted strategies than the former press release model.

Organizations, businesses, brands, are all publishers now, and we can circumvent the middlemen "publishers and media" of late.

Press releases, prior to the internet, used to be simply a notification for press, a way to gain exposure, and not much more than that.

• Very few people actually saw it, except for a few reporters and editors.

• You had to write about VERY newsworthy events and information.

• The rules were strict, and had required formal standards in formatting.

• Your buyers wouldn't know about it unless the "media" actually wrote a story about it.

Businesses and brands, if they understand how to utilize press releases effectively can leverage the internet AND tap into a DIRECT channel of communication with their market and attract new leads/fans/audience.

Nowadays press releases can reach buyers directly.

• They can drive traffic to your website • They can achieve high SEO rankings • Attract buyers interested in what you offer • Get people into your sales funnel • Gain competitive advantage

Best practices for utilizing press releases nowadays.

• Find strategic ways to utilize them consistently.

• Write professional press releases that is also written directly to your audience.

• Utilize keywords in your copy.

• Include links to targeted landing pages.

• Make your PR optimized to be found in the search engines.

• Draw people into your sales funnel.

• Grow your audience organically.

What do i write press releases about?

Awards, accolades, speaking engagements, upcoming events, new products, publishing a white paper, a successful new client, a new methodology, a new take on an old problem… Be creative! Make it interesting though.

Publish it on your own site, and then send it through a distribution service across the web. These services will syndicate your PR across potentially hundreds of online news services and sites.

Best press release distribution services to use:

PRNewswire and PRweb

marketwire.com and businesswire.com

In conclusion:

The press release can be used creatively in a web 2.0 world to directly communicate to your target audience, and build natural links to your website to increase rankings and traffic.

The old adage about ONLY writing a press release with an OBVIOUSLY monumental event or product launch -is dated. With a little creativity and strategic planning you can harness the power of press releases to increase brand awareness, exposure, traffic, and sales.