For hundreds (even thousands) of years, announcements were part and parcel of business and society…
Now, did you know that even in the digital age we are now living in – announcements still play a major role?
But unlike the old days when announcements were made in stone tablets or scrolls – today, announcements are now made through videos, ads and press releases (the topic we’ll be discussing about today).
Take note: press releases (although primarily made for announcing something) – can actually help increase the success rate of your online marketing efforts.
How?
Let’s discuss the 3 ways press releases can actually turn your online marketing campaigns into a more successful business endeavour:
1. It Helps Publicize Your Company or Brand
If you are able to create a good press release that’s actually newsworthy – then there’s a high chance that major publications and journalists will help you spread it. And when that happens, you’ll be able to spread more good word about your business, consequently benefiting your marketing campaigns at the same time.
In order to make this a possibility, however, you will need to follow the proper rules when it comes to press releases. Unlike other written content styles, press releases actually have distinct (and usually strict) rules that are followed by publishers and journalists. And when you are unable to reach that standard – then there might be a problem.
When creating PRs, always keep the following in mind:
- Make your subject or topic newsworthy. It could be an announcement about your company, a new development in your industry (or related to your industry), new promos or packages for clients, newfound benefits for using your product and other related (and recent) topics that you believe people – most especially journalists and your target audience – will take a keen interest in.
- Offer high quality content. In order for PRs to work, they will need to be readable. Follow the proper grammar, sentence structure, tenses and other needed details. If possible, answer the questions who, what, where, why and when in your press releases. This will help ensure that there is value to reading your PRs, which in turn, can encourage people to either repost or share it.
- Make your press releases factual. This is another aspect of PRs that is quite important. Always use sources if possible, as it will give it out a more professional and news-like approach, which again, will encourage publications to use it.
2. It Helps You Communicate with Your Target Audience
Press releases, when done properly, can actually help you effectively communicate with your target market – without having to sound too “sales-pitchy” about it.
For example: you can announce a new discount package that will catch the attention of the people who you believe will most probably make purchases from you (after knowing about it). Or, you can create a PR that discusses a recent development in the industry – and insert some tidbits about how your company can help people in that regard.
Here are some additional tips to help you out:
- Try to include a background of your company and relate it to the news item or topic, as the case may be. By doing so, readers will get a glimpse of how your business operates and will likewise help market your business or brand. Note: don’t make the entire PR about just your company. Try to insert some other valuable info as well, in order to avoid turning the PR into a marketing article.
- Include a call to action or About Us section. This is where you can market your business a bit. Include your services, contact info, website address and other details that people can use to either contact you, or, for hiring your services (or buying your products).
- The most viable PR distribution sites where you can post your press releases are www.prweb.com, www.newswiretoday.com, www.i-newswire.com, www.24-7pressrelease.com and many others. (Some of these sites offer free and paid services. As it is, you might want to check on their terms and conditions first before using them to ensure utmost efficiency and feasibility on your part.).
3. It Helps in Your SEO Efforts
Press releases are actually quite viable in SEO campaigns, as it actually helps increase one’s website rankings. After all, it is presumed that PRs are high-quality content (search engines love quality content) that are informative, credible and are actually readable. In order to make this possible, however, you will need to make sure that you have actually put good thought in creating your PRs.
Here are some added tips:
- Undertake the needed keyword research and use the proper keywords in your PR content.
- Make sure to follow the proper keyword density and placement rules in the PR (the recommended keyword density is 1% to 2% of total word count or less).
- Link your keywords to quality links for greater efficiency.
These are just some of the benefits of using press releases for your marketing campaigns. Do you have anything to add? If you do, please share it with us by commenting below.
