Public Relations Benefits
Public relations is among the most misunderstood, little used promotional tools available to anyone for way less cost than traditional advertising. PR should be part of the overall marketing strategy for your organization. (If you do not have a written plan, it is time to get one!) Marketing takes messages about you and what you offer and puts them in front of those whom you believe will be interested in buying what you are selling. The tools to communicate these messages include paid ads, direct mail, branded merchandising, cross-promotion, and public relations. PR can take those ideas and make them newsworthy.
Publicity
The key feature from public relations is publicity. Articles, features and interviews broadcast/published in traditional media like newspapers and their online siblings, television, terrestrial radio, and/or trade publications are perceived by the public as more credible and believable than paid ads. While traditional print media is all but extinct, most of that same media continues online. Better still, the online universe is full of communication channels that reach your potential customers. So there is no shortage of places to put the message about you. But make no mistake, the glut of available channels does not mean any of this is easy. Properly formatting communications remains essential.
News Announcements or Press Releases
Press announcements communicate ‘news.’ So no surprise the primary way of communicating with news outlets is the news or press release. These are written documents that state what the news from your enterprise is about. News is newly received or noteworthy information, especially about recent or important events. “I’ve got some good news for you,” a broadcast or published report of news might say. But what does news about you and your enterprise look like?
Make News
Business news can include but is not limited to introductory announcements, new products, new ways to use existing technology, added locations, discoveries, executives, profit/loss (financial news is highly regulated, so be cautious with it) or anything out of the ordinary. News is not a copy of the brochure formatted into news release form. Recognizing what is newsworthy is more art than science. Over the years, Harold Nicoll developed an eye for what was potentially newsworthy and discovered opportunities others did not see.
If finding news is challenging, writing news announcements is just as if not more challenging. Once written though, where do you send your release?
At Media-Public-Relations we have the most comprehensive list of editors, reporters, assignment editors, and electronic producers and bloggers available anywhere. To find those places and approach them with your story and have the best chance of coverage in those outlets whose coverage you desire, get a professional to help. No one works on their own teeth, and no one should try to write their own press announcements. Contact Harold Nicoll, APR today.