Tips to Write a Press Release for Your Brand
There are a number of goals for any press release. Your goals may be to drive traffic. They may be to motivate sales. Goals are also often awareness related. A press release, especially when it’s picked up by the media, is a powerful tool to help build awareness for your business and your brand. Branding isn’t a common primary goal, but it can be a solid secondary goal and a part of every press release.
#1 Strengthen Your Content Marketing Before Your Press Release
It’s important that your press release is newsworthy, right? For media channels, blogs, and other outlets to pick up your story it has to be informative, relevant, and timely. With an abundance of competition, it can be tricky to rise above all of the other news. You can get an edge if you’re newsworthy before you issue the press release.
This means having an abundance of content around your products and services beforehand. This tactic adds relevant, timely, interesting context to your release. It starts building your brand before your release is issued, thus giving it more weight and better distribution, exposure, and awareness.
#2 Pitch a Story That’s Relevant to Your Customers
Take your press release beyond basic news and create a story that informs, inspires, and/or entertains your audience. Know what matters to your audience and pitch it that way. When you talk to media representatives, make sure they write for your audience. This helps your brand story reach a wider audience, it supports your release to connect with your audience, and it helps your organization strengthen your brand.
#3 Spread the Wealth
One tactic that many people don’t consider is maximizing media coverage for their story by creating and pitching multiple story ideas. You then send different story ideas, for the same press release event and information, to different media outlets. This requires some creativity on your part and may push your marketing department. However, by creating more stories and pitching to more media outlets, you’ll have wider reach and more exposure. It’s a great way to grow your brand.
#4 Ride the Wave
Sometimes, with a bit of creativity, you can piggyback your story idea on trends. Search for top #hashtags, stay on top of social media, and know what’s going on in your industry. You can also capitalize on seasonal stories and personal interest stories. The media tend to cover trends, seasonal stories and personal interest more often which gives you a better chance of having your story picked up.
#5 Time Your Delivery
Timing the delivery of your press release pitch can also help give you some leverage to get your story covered and your brand communicated. Know the deadlines for reporters you’re pitching to. Pay attention to when they respond to your emails and track the information so you can use it for future stories and press release pitches.
#6 Tell Your Story With Bullet Points
When providing reporters with your pitch, be sure to communicate your brand and your company history as succinctly as possible. You might include sample questions or bullet point your key points to make it easy for them to find the information.
#7 Leverage the Exposure
You can really take your press release brand marketing to the next level if you syndicate your own media exposure. Share your media hits and coverage on your blog, on social media, in your email marketing as well.
Branding your press releases is more about creating a story idea that reflects what your audience wants and needs and making sure that the press is interested enough to cover your company. It’s a balance of creativity and strategy.
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