If your company or business has some announcement related to social media, then a press release can become your first powerful mechanism to get the word out online. However, a press release for announcing social media-related information must be supported with some key elements that can enhance the results that it would normally get. To smoothen the process of press release creation and distribution, we have provided various modules in this article which we will examine one by one.
Aim: To get a social media press release published and distributed online.
Tools: As with any project, there are some key determining factors that influence the results. Similarly to achieve the aim given above, the tools provided here include a ready-made template, example, writing tips, benefits and distribution process.
Template: Social media press release template is given below
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
[Headline] /* [Company/Business/Individual Name] + [key announcement related to social media] + attractive news angle (if any) */
[Sub-heading] /* 2-3 sentences for summary */
[Location City], [Date]. [Company/Business/Individual name], a [emerging/new/established] name in [type of sector/industry] is excited to announce that [announcement related to social media]. [What led to this outcome? + usability to people + how people interacted/responsed]
[Important inputs that led to this achievement + how it started? + uniqueness + what it means for the company/business?] (3-4 sentences)
[Quote from CEO or any other top-level executive]
[Focus on the core area of what the company does + current trend in this industry + future potential] (3-4 sentences)
[Quote from a key person handling the marketing/social media profile]
To read more on this announcement, visit [website URL or social media profile].
About [Company]
[Background (when established, by whom) + vision + mission (2-3 sentences max)].
Media Contact:
[Name]
[Job Title]
[Email address] /* official email */
[Phone number]
[Website URL]
[Location city and state]
Benefits
While there can be many direct and indirect benefits of a social media press release, the significant ones are listed below:
1 Catalyzes the Visibility
An announcement is good only if people notice it. There are many paid methods that are too expensive like pay per click, pay per view, etc. With a press release, a one-time cost can get the announcement spread across 100’s of news portals, websites, blogs and feeds. The overall effect is that massive traffic is generated within a short period due to the big distribution by the PR network. This sets the first step for generating the right attention for your announcement.
2 Imparts Strong Recognition
Recognition is becoming a key factor for generating sales/leads and awareness because many people are increasingly using the internet to find more information about a company or business before trying to use their product/service. Press releases ensure that your company or business gets seen across many news portals and websites due to which it assists in getting a positive image of your company/business.
3 Discretionary Coverage
Once you get the social media press release published, the visibility it gains can get multiplied further if editors of big news portals voluntarily publish it. For this factor to come into play, it is required that the PR must have some attractive news angle.
4 Unlocks Potential for More Sales/Leads
If you just have your website as the only medium to generate sales and awareness, then you are missing out on a great possibility. By issuing press releases related to social media and other aspects of your business/service, you unwind a new potential to bring visitors to your website which in turn helps with driving conversions. Therefore companies aware of this factor use press releases regularly to secure rank for many terms related to their business (often low-competition keywords).
Tips
Before you start writing the press release for social media-related PR announcement, note down these tips to get better results
1 Reduce the “Boring” Factor
Most press releases are just plain announcements written in a professional style. So even though they get views due to distribution, they can perform much better if their boring professional part is slightly reduced. If you can infuse creativity in social media PR by relating it with some popular trend or point of view, then the results will improve much better.
2 No “Something looks Missing” Format
If after reading your PR, people get the feeling of “something is missing”, then your PR would not fetch good results. Make a list of all closely related things that are associated with your PR and then frame the content for the PR.
3 Plain and Direct Writing
Most people especially people who go through press releases don’t expect it to be too technical. If some ideas are contradictory or involve jargon, then the reader experience will be hindered which will not be good for the performance of the press release. So adopt a plain and straightforward writing mechanism.
4 Don’t Miss on The Achievements
A press release must mention all the positive aspects of a company/business/entity and one of the most positive impact makers are achievements. If you have got some awards or have achieved some milestones or have some top-level and experienced personnel, you can showcase it in your press release.
5 Other Interaction Methods
Text is not the only interaction method in the case of a press release. You can create beautiful images/videos and can provide links in the press release. By using this method, you will improve the interaction level with the reader as people interact with images and videos far better than text.
6 No Late Regrets
After publishing, you will not have any option to correct mistakes in the PR or to modify any part of the PR. So before sending for publishing, make sure that it is correct from all angles be it factual, grammatical or typographical.
7 Length and Readability are Inversely Proportional
In case of a press release, the longer it is, the less it will be read and vice versa. So, explain the key points in just 1-2 sentences each. If you think that some detailed information is absolutely necessary, provide the details on your website and give the link to that page in the PR.
8 Which Sites will Host it?
The final list of sites that will host the content will decide how much visibility your press release will get. To get into top-notch sites, use a high-quality PR distributor.
