The use of a press release in a high-stakes environment differs from that of an advertisement. A press release is a strategic conduit for businesses to connect with their audience through public records. It is common for many organizations to view the press release as a means to produce a marketing brochure. This view is …
The use of a press release in a high-stakes environment differs from that of an advertisement. A press release is a strategic conduit for businesses to connect with their audience through public records. It is common for many organizations to view the press release as a means to produce a marketing brochure. This view is often misguided. This misconception often creates a circumstance in which the press release ends up in the “trash folder.” Conversely, a professional PR practitioner views the press release as an editorial tool.
In order to achieve the same level of expertise as a PR professional, individuals must approach the press release as a means of telling a story rather than as a vehicle for selling products. In this document, individuals will learn how to utilize the mechanics of professional media writing in a manner that is founded on a sophisticated framework. This framework ensures that their press releases are presented with the appropriate level of authority, restraint, and journalism value to gain the interest of the most particular editors in the world.
The difference between a beginner and an expert in Public Relations is how they think about their audience. A marketing copywriter would think, “How can I write this to sound fantastic?” An expert in Public Relations would say, “What’s the reason for a journalist to be interested in this NOW?”
The reason most press releases fail at getting press coverage is that they are too focused on the company’s internal operations and not on something that is relevant to the general public. Instead, a PR practitioner focuses primarily on News Value, which is the intersection of timeliness, impact, and human interest. If your press release sounds like a marketing/sales piece, it will be treated as such (i.e., you will be expected to purchase an advertisement).
By looking at your company from an editorial perspective, you can position your brand as an information source rather than just a way to get attention.
Expert Insight: True PR develops a narrative that becomes part of the cultural/economic conversation. See how you can leverage this to build out a more comprehensive PR strategy and establish yourself as a thought leader to create real change.
The initial phase of a high-quality public relations campaign is identifying a compelling “hook” to attract your target audience. When crafting news stories, the focus should always be on what resonates with your audience and their experience as journalists. In this case, the “audience” is not your CEO but a journalist/information broker whose time is very limited: thirty seconds to assess whether or not your news is credible enough to publish.
The criteria for determining whether something qualifies as “News” are: Is it Relevant (What’s the urgency?), Unique (What makes it original?), and Impactful (Who are the Primary Affected? If you are unable to describe the “Why” in one sentence, your news is not yet developed. This part of the process requires a detailed understanding of how Brand Storytelling works, and how to create a relationship between your news and the Public Perception you wish to create over time.
A newsworthy headline is a factual statement rather than a marketing claim (e.g., “This is junk policy”). The focus should be on the end result of the news, which is what makes it newsworthy enough to warrant a headline. When creating headlines for news stories, think about what might be seen in the newspaper above the fold.
In PR, the lead (first paragraph) of a Press Release is called a 5W Lead because it should contain all five W’s (who, what, where, when, and why) and include the sixth “so what?” A well-written lead should be complete enough that the reader doesn’t need to read the rest of the Release to understand the entire story. The clarity of thought and language when writing the lead is one of the hallmarks of a successful PR campaign.
Once you have written an effective lead, you will begin to build credibility for your company and brand in the Body of the Press Release. In the Body Copy, you will present facts, stats, and quotations from third-party verification of the story. You must use succinct wording and clear sentence structure with an emphasis on providing new information and building on what the reader knows. The success of Campaign Execution is dependent on the ability to provide a strong foundation for a narrative both for the journalist who will be writing about it and for the Editor who will review and publish it.
The most obvious sign of amateurish PR is a non-human-like quote. For instance, the phrase “We’re excited to share with you…” is one of the many phrases that you will miss the opportunity to be human. The best quotes are those that are meaningful and personal; therefore, they represent an individual’s unique insight, perspective, or vision through a person’s words. Quotes that describe one’s leadership philosophy or brand identity are important elements of effective leadership branding.
The “About Us” section (or other standard content) is the long-term branding record of your company. This section is where you will find all of the information about your company: who you are, what you do, and where your business is located (your scale). Therefore, this section must be 100% factual and consistent. You will not find your company’s mission statement in this section; however, you will find the three “W” sections of your company: Who, What, Where.
When you think of what luxury means when it comes to how communications are structured and/or written. Communications that are considered to be luxurious are usually structured very simply and have brief messages.
For instance, a professionally written press release will typically be no longer than one page in length (approximately 400-500 words).
These PR Best Practices let a journalist know you are a professional who values their time and their workflow.
To maintain your brand reputation and avoid sending out a press release that is likely to be overlooked in all the hype and commotion involved with all the different stories out there, beware of the above-mentioned issues.
The best-written press release will have no value to anyone if it is saved to hard drives; it needs to be distributed to be useful. This is where writing meets strategy; professional PR is based on building and maintaining relationships with reporters and matching their interests with a release. Sending a mass release to a general mailing list is the same as throwing garbage onto the street.
In order to achieve genuine results from your story, you have to find the specific journalists who would be interested in your story, as such understanding requires an in-depth knowledge of the Indian media.
To find out more, read our Complete Guide to Press Release Distribution in India.
However, even though virtually anyone can publish articles and communicate via different forms of media, navigating the complexities and subtleties of the media to achieve your business objectives is best done with the assistance of professionals. There are three primary reasons to enlist the help of a public relations agency:
If you’re planning to hire an agency, explore Trivium Public Relations press release distribution services for strategic reach and measurable visibility.
Creating press releases like an expert takes discipline. It is all about providing value to the reader to get their attention, not just giving them a lot of information to make them pay attention. Creating a compelling story from a corporate announcement with editorial logic, a discipline in tone (not a forced or out-of-control tone), and industry-standard formatting provides editors with the material to cover your story. While the writing will get the reader’s attention, the strategy will get the editor’s coverage of the story.
