The press release is on life support

The traditional press release is on life support. For years now, I have watched the evolution of traditional press releases. Six years ago, when I began working for my current employer, a municipality of more than 130,000, press releases were an integral component of how we communicated with residents. But, gone are the days when you send an email to your news distribution list hoping to be included in the print edition of your local newspaper. With the evolution of the role of news reporters, so too, has the role of public relations (PR) practitioners (and in turn the press release) evolved. It has evolved because both the practitioner and the news reporter are being asked to do more. Today, reporters are tasked with updating content on websites, growing their social media audience and producing content for it. PR professionals are asked to manage social media pages, update websites and utilize video in communications.

There are now other ways to get information out and, I argue, more effective ways. While I still occasionally send out news releases in the traditional format, it has become a rarity. I, now, release “news” on my organization’s website and share it across social media platforms. There is no substitute for a robust public relations program. Last week, I received a call from a reporter for a local news radio station about a release that I only posted on the municipality’s website. She asked questions about the release and if she could tape an interview with me over the phone about the release. The entire process took less than 5 minutes and she had what she needed and I in turn had another outlet to get my message out. 

Though I believe a web release is better than a traditional news release, I won’t argue here that a web release is better than a social media release. In fact, I believe a good public relations program will include both. Because audiences are relying less and less on traditional media for their information, it is imperative that the PR/communications professionals reach their publics in other ways. You can maximize the exposure of your content by effectively using the web release and doing the following:

Regularly post to the newsroom section of your website as it can expand the access to your messages. Make sure that your content is easily accessible, has a prominent location on your homepage and is reinforced constantly across the platforms that you use to communicate – e-marketing, social media, print collateral. In addition, allowing for online signups to your web release content removes the additional step that was previously required in a traditional web release.

Use multimedia when it’s appropriate. A web release can include multimedia - but use it sparingly. A few years ago, the department that I oversee developed a web release to promote a documentary. It included an embedded video. Prior to posting the web release, we shared four :30 video clips via social media to raise awareness of the project and get people excited about the documentary. The video was shared on the local government’s webpage, YouTube and Facebook pages and quickly became the organization’s most viewed video.

Make your web releases searchable. Because reporters are tasked with producing more content in real time, there is an insatiable appetite for content. Web releases afford reporters the opportunity to search for and pull content. There have been many times when I have seen reporters pull a web release and post it verbatim or nearly verbatim.

Make it shareable. The shareable nature of a web release makes it a good opportunity to increase impressions. Bloggers and news consumers become force multipliers for the PR professional. It can also start a conversation which brings me to my next point.

Pay attention to the immediate feedback. The web release affords you immediate feedback on your content. That immediate feedback can highlight areas that require further explanation, because you are reaching and in turn, hearing from your audience directly.

I believe strongly in the power of a good web release, but in the world of public relations, I have to add that relationships still matter. It is still important to establish relationships with key reporters in your industry. Working for a local municipality, we have a handful of key reporters and news influencers that I talk to, email, call and reach out to regularly. There is no substitute for that relationship. So, develop relationships and use your web release to help you get your message out.