The New Life of Press Releases

A press release has typically been a crafted, structured and often targeted one page, 400 words or so document containing an attention grabbing headline and ‘newsworthy’ content. In the past it has been focused on essentially gaining publicity while making the life of the journalist easier. The perception and assumption has been that journalists receive large amounts of press releases, many of which they will read (which is not necessarily the case), and use some as the basis for their work. This perception of journalist views them as almost passive in how stories are arrived at, and the journalist has popularly been viewed as a kind of middle man and filter between the message and its intended end audience.

It has also long bee a traditional view of press releases that they are short hand, short lived, purely text based documents which simply give a factual summary in a format and style that is harmonious to the particular journalist and publication to which it has been sent.

The Press Release in the Online World

Whilst relationships with information network nodes e.g. journalists and bloggers may still be of importance in many situations the, the widespread use of the web by virtually all sections of society, business and consumers has changed the ‘who’ ‘what’ where’ ‘when’ ‘why’ and how of the circulation of information and news, and the scope, potential, and value of the press release itself. A more modern perception of a journalist may be of somebody who actively searches for potential stories using the web just as end consumers do. A more modern perception of an online press release may be of a long lasting web document which delivers visitors to websites, high quality incoming links, as well as the publicity.

A Direct Approach

A modern online press release or news release can be designed, written , and search engine optimised so that it works for a wide range of potential target audiences, including end consumers, and not just journalist, bloggers and opinion leaders. Effective SEO of web based press releases can ensure that they are specific, interesting, informative, and important enough to rank highly in the search engines and news engines for a long time. Using PR specialist and companies can ensure wide distribution, including potential distribution to online news engines.

A Modern Format

The web provides so many ways of presenting information. Since the audience for online press releases or news releases is now essentially much wider, online press releases can therefore incorporate pictures, video, and links to different landing pages.

The Value of Online Press Releases

The true value of search engine optimised online press releases lies in a combination many other areas including:

• Their low cost.
• Their ability to be tracked more effectively.
• The widespread use of the web for news consumption (rather than newspapers) and for research.
• Their potential longevity and the potential for very wide visibility e.g. using RSS feed, the press released being published on many other websites etc.