Creating Your Company Press Release Plan
Your company press release plan is part of your overall marketing plan. As such, it will ultimately support your business goals. For example, if your business goals are to increase sales by 10 percent this year, then your marketing will be designed to increase sales. Thus, your press release plan also needs to be designed to increase sales. So the first step for creating any press release plan is to first take a look at the year’s business and marketing goals.
Identify Your Press Release Goals
Taking a look at your business and marketing goals. Based on those goals you’ll want to define and write down your objectives for your press release plan. For example, do you want to:
- Boost credibility and authority?
- Drive traffic to key website pages like your opt-in offer or your sales page?
- Build awareness for your organization?
Once you’ve identified your general goals, you’ll want to refine them until they’re SMART goals; Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time Bound.
Create Your Timeline
Once you’ve established a specific goal that’s time bound, you’ll want to begin looking at a calendar and planning it out. For example, when will each press release be issued and why? Who will create the press releases? Where will you distribute them?
This is also the time to start thinking about how your press release plan can be integrated into your social media, content, and other marketing tactics. For example, can you share your press release on social media? Can you tweet quotes and facts from the press release to get more attention?
Identify Your Opportunities
When can you issue a press release? What opportunities do you have to leverage this marketing tactic? Consider:
- Product launch
- Special promotions
- Special events
- Breaking news or research
- Industry news
- New hires or promotions
Identify Your Technology
Take a look at the technology you’re currently using. Does it fit your needs? Do you need to integrate more technologies or create different systems to support your press release plan? For example, instead of publishing on social media manually, you might save time and have better results if you use a press release distribution service that also posts to social media sites. Take a look at your systems for:
- Creating press releases
- Distributing press releases
- Tracking press release results
Who is Your Audience?
Your press release audience may be varied and it often depends on your press release goals. Generally speaking, you want to grab the attention of both the media and your audience. Create a definition of your target audience for your press release. Determine who your target audience consists of. Who is it that you want to reach with this campaign? What message do you want them to take from your release?
How Will You Assess?
Finally, implement measures to track the results of your press releases. After each release, sit down and review the results. Did you achieve the defined objectives and goals? Should you consider modifying your original plan? If so, how and why? This information will help you with your future press releases, as well as with your future press release marketing plans.
