Press Releases: An important part of Public Relations Strategies

Advertising is a very important part of a business no matter whether huge or small. Press releases are quite essential for creating and maintaining public relations. Press release and public relations, the two PR’s are often mistaken. PR actually corresponds to public relations not press release; however, press releases are one of the tools in PR. PR or public relations basically aim at informing the public about your business by the means of news stories and articles. It is one the best ways of advertising since the people are more likely to read news stories rather than an advertisement.                                         

                                                                              
The Three P’s                           

Press release, publicizing and public relation (PR) are all interrelated terms yet each one has its different function. Press releases are also known as news releases, the only difference is, a news release is not only intended for the media distribution but it is also for the general public.

Public relations (PR) thus refer to the communication of the business with the goal of creating a healthy image in front of the public. They are basically the strategies for the business to inform of their presence and work in a good way. It is the grounds for publicizing the goals and image of a business. The form of communication can be anything from articles, to blog posts, to letters and of course press releases.

Hence, a Public Relations Press Release generates publicity and at the same time develops good public relations.

Now, the next step is to be able gain maximum of the news coverage by sending it out as press release. The article or the stories about the business is likely to be published by various print Medias such as newspaper, magazines, online etc. A press release cannot just be printed, they should contain news, something that you want the public to know, some of the events for which a press release can be sent out are as follow:

•    Commencement of a new business,
•    Expansion of the business,
•    Shifting to a newer location,
•    Products or services launch,
•    Celebration of success or anniversary,
•    Getting big and important orders,
•    Funding a sports team or a band or anything else,
•    Raising certain concerns,
•    Special events, offers and much more                            

An ideal Public Relations News Release should have a striking headline which should be followed by the news or the story you want to bring in the knowledge of people. The information should be easily readable and hence the amount of space can be increased between the lines. At the end, contact details should be provided such as phone number and email address. This is because the editor may wish to contact for more information. As the press release is more of an article about something new in the business and hence should not be written as an advertisement. It should be brief and to the point just same as realistic news in the news papers. The story provided by you if published as it is or with fewer changes by the editors means that it is a good press release.

Making use of social media release for public relations - Part 1

After nearly 100 years of traditional press release, the social media release has arrived to open up dialogues in many new ways. These can be considered to be complementary, as traditional press release reaches the traditional media while the SMR reaches the social media. Ane Howard (annehowardpublicist.com), a social media strategist and a public relations veteran believes that “the difference between a PR and Social Media campaign is that social media is focused on strengthening the relationships that people have with a brand via a two-way interaction, and takes place on a daily and continuing basis.” Ane said to us that “a social media release with its strong digital components of image, video and rss feeds has an extended shelf life on the web through repeat viewing in various online communities that a traditional press release does not posses.”                     

It is the social media release that has made it so easy for people to share important information with others while also being able to add their own unique perspective to that text.

Also, the social search engines do not readily pick up the traditional press release. In fact, the SMR is an excellent way to get traffic to a company websites. Basically, it is just the basic press release that has been altered in order to become more suitable to the environment on the Internet. The goal of the social media release is also to provide concise information to media journalists in order to give them assistance in writing about your business. Besides, it offers various benefits to the online reader. Various keywords as well as links can be used in order to optimize the SMR and make it get more attention in the search rankings.

                        
Just like a traditional press release, even a social media release has a catchy headline. It focuses on a specific benefit of your product or service and is used to drive home several points that will be able to emphasize that benefit.

The social media release is used in public relations as it has links within its text that is used to direct people to your site. This is why SEO tactics such as keywords are to be used in it. In addition, it will also have your IM as well as VoIP contact information so that the end users are able to contact you easily. As compared to a traditional press release, it has multimedia links such as audio files besides embedded videos. Even though it is a new thing, people are coming up with innovative ways for using this in public relations.

What are the benefits of PR distribution to newsrooms and online submission?

Online press release distribution is one of the best ways to increase the visibility of a website and to broadcast business press releases to journalists and to major news outlets. By circulating well written press releases, can successfully reach to their targeted customers and build their brand reputation (e-reputation). Online marketing and PR distribution are popular trend and are a powerful weapon for getting instant online attention,  to increased traffic and to obtain press coverage from journalists.

How does online press distribution work?

There are several websites for news release submission which offer free as well as paid press release submission services.

Press Release distribution and  submission system works as a bridge between online marketers and public relations professional, popular social media networks and targeted news outlets and journalists. It is a great tool to obtain press coverage in addition to online marketing. When a release is submitted to a press release submission website, it is first checked by editors for grammatical and formatting related errors before it is published.

All reputed PR submission newswires confirm the information submitted for correct news layout, spelling and grammatical errors, appropriate number of links, as well as the use of HTML tags and furthermore will make suggestions regarding which news outlets to email the press release to. When all these elements are satisfactory, the press release is published on the online newsroom in addition to being distributed to news outlets and, or social media networks.

The press releases are also categorized according to content and its topic and appear on the newswire online newsroom. Depending upon the service selected, it is further forwarded to different channels including search engines, social media networks, news agencies and other sources of news distribution.Submitted information on a reputed PR distribution newswire may appear on more than one location and may also be  emailed to various newsrooms.  Pick ups and publication by the major media newsrooms are the decision of the media outlets and is not made by the newswire or PR submission website.

Benefits of PR Submission

PR distribution & submission online services are a great source for globally or locally sharing new and valuable information among the targeted market.

Online submission of a press release is also a great way to enhance its search engine optimization efforts and increase visibility to a website by anchoring hyperlinks and building back links within the body of the press release. But it doesn’t stop there. It’s the most reliable way to reach news outlets and to reach journalists and to obtain press coverage. Make sure the PR submission website that you use has an updated press directory!   

Online PR submission and distribution are commonly used by public relations professionals and agencies. Additionally, many e-business proprietors and organizations of all types turn to this approach use this service to enjoy the benefits of online submission.

Many internet-based newswires offer press releases submission services to organizations all over the world. However, only a few of them offer elite features that truly benefit its clients public relations efforts. The features to look for are: 
.    SEO PR;
.    Ability to add hyperlinks;
.    Ability to add an image and a YouTube video;
.    PR ranking and search engines pick ups including Google News, Yahoo! and Bing;
.    Extensive up-to-date news outlets directory for e-mail outreach;
.    Editorial team that will offer advice and review your press release.

It is no mystery why savvy businesses do not limit their PR to simply publishing their press releases on their corporate pressrooms but choose a professional PR submission newswire. It’s a great way to increase online visibility and to reach journalists and to obtain press coverage.