Public relations is essentially a strategy to garner exposure or advertising that you don't directly pay for. I say you don't directly pay for this, yet most businesses or organizations have someone on staff (or on a contract basis) to facilitate this process. How can you increase your public relations reach with no added cost? Through "pitching" or offering a story idea to media contacts that involves your business or industry, by sending a press release, or by doing both. Here are some tips when crafting your press release or communication to media:
PRoper PR tip #1
Consider whether your topic is newsworthy. Some business leaders want press releases for every action or accomplishment the company makes, but this can be dangerous. You don’t want to flood in boxes with press releases that aren't relevant to current happenings. If there is a way to connect your news to a trending issue or event, that is a much better route to get media interest.
PRoper PR Tip #2
Get to the point quickly in your press release. Reporters don’t have a lot of time to sift through and discern the main points of your press release, like what is happening, or what it is you want them to do. On this same topic, lead with the key facts so the reader knows who, what, where when and why.
PRoper PR Tip #3
Write so the text can be copied and pasted into whatever media format is easiest for your target (print/online). This means including quotes from leaders in your company/agency or related parties, relevant statistics from legitimate sources, and complementary voices.
Include interesting photos with captions/names of participants as appropriate. Try to get photos that are high-quality, as low resolution or pixelated images will not be used.
Every industry is working with fewer employees, but the same or higher productivity expectations, so reporters will be more likely to plug in your content if it’s in a well-written package.
Above all else, build rapport with your industry media contacts! You can be a resource to them as much as they can be a resource for you.
Have any other tips or have you had success with any of the above? Let us know what you think in the comments section here.
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