Almost 50% of businesses claim marketing is their top growth strategy. If you want to grow as a business, you’ll need to utilize different ways to reach your audience. With a press release, you can inform your audience about events, new products, and more.
What exactly is the purpose of a press release, and how do you write an effective one? Keep reading to find out!
With this guide, we’ll review everything you need to know about press releases and how you can use them for your business.
What Is a Press Release?
The official press release definition is an official statement that gives newspapers, TV news programs, and other media outlets relevant information.
Press releases are about 500 words. These one-page announcements provide media outlets with the information they need to publish an official news story. For businesses, press releases allow companies to control the story about their brand.
You’ll send your press release along with a press release email to a journalist. The press release email will pitch your story by summarizing the content within the press release.
Timing is an important component of any successful press release. Most releases are labeled “For Immediate Release.” In other words, the news outlet can make the information public as soon as they receive the release.
In other cases, you might request the media source holds off on the story until a specific date. For example, you might want to hold a press release until your new product is ready for release. In that case, you’ll specify the date you want coverage to begin.
The Purpose of a Press Release
What exactly is the purpose of a press release?
The main goal of creating a press release is to promote a significant and specific event. Remember, creating a press release allows you to control the story. By providing relevant information to media outlets, you can also expand your promotional reach.
Most businesses send out press releases to notify media outlets of a specific event. If the media outlet posts about the event, these businesses can increase awareness.
If you don’t have an event coming up, you might want to use a press release to promote your business as a whole. Then blogs, social media accounts, and websites can create a story about your business to spread the word.
Overall, the main purpose of a press release is to help you improve your marketing and promotional purposes.
Types of Press Releases
There are a few different types of releases you can create.
First, there’s the product launch release. You can use a product launch press release to encourage journalists to promote an upcoming product. These releases should feel attention-grabbing and exciting.
For this type of release, you’ll need to provide enough information about the product (such as benefits and features). At the same time, you might want to tease certain details to spark more interest.
You might need to use an emergency announcement press release to focus on urgency. The inverted pyramid writing style is important for this form of a press release. That way, the release focuses on the most important information first.
Are you hiring new personnel soon? A new hire release is used to mention an individual and the title they’re fulfilling. With this release, it helps to focus on their qualifications previous achievements.
The award announcement release can focus on your company’s recent accomplishments.
There’s also the new research findings press release. This press release includes technical facts and details about a new discovery.
Reasons to Send a Press Release
When should you send a press release out to the public?
First, press releases are a great way to boost brand awareness. Once a media outlet picks up your story, you can reach a wider audience to garner more attention for your brand.
You can also use brand awareness to build a relationship between your company and journalists. In fact, building this type of relationship can benefit your business in the future. A business relationship can become mutually beneficial for both parties.
Remember, you control the story when you send out a press release. With that in mind, you can use a press release to manage your brand image. How do you want the public to see you?
Don’t neglect the importance of search engine optimization (SEO). SEO allows your content to appear in front of more people on search engines like Google.
About 85% of companies claim search marketing is the most effective way to acquire new customers.
One of the best ways to boost your SEO ranking is to have other websites link to your content or site. A press release can help you increase your ranking through backlinks.
Tips for Writing a Release
It’s important to understand how to correctly write and format a press release before you send one out.
The typical format for a press release includes:
- An eye-catching headline that summarizes the release
- The location (of your business or the event)
- A strong lede (summarizing the content in the opening sentence)
- Skimmable content within the body
- Boilerplate content that describes your company
- Your company’s press contact (for a media coordinator)
When writing your press release, make sure it has a clear purpose. What do you want readers to know?
Next, write a strong headline that’s direct and comprehensive. Make sure to use action verbs to give it a punch.
When writing your lede, make sure to improve who, what, when, where, and why. Keep it concise to maintain the reader’s focus.
Then, use quotes to support your body content. Use the inverted pyramid style to put the most important information at the beginning of your article. That way, you can keep the reader’s attention, even if they skim through your release.
Once you’re done, you’ll need to know where to send press releases to expand your reach!
Understanding the Purpose of a Press Release: Everything You Need to Notify Your Audience
Boost your brand and keep your audience informed! Now that you understand the purpose of a press release, you can get writing. Refer back to these tips to ensure your release accomplishes your goals, too.
Explore the Money & Finance section of the blog for more helpful tips and guides.