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Discussing Press Release

Today we are going to talk about using Press Releases as part of your digital marketing strategy.

Press releases are one of the oldest marketing tools used in business.

But as with all things, the Internet and online business world has made the press release evolve, and now it’s more powerful and useful than ever.

A company would craft a message announcing an event, publish it in the media for brand exposure, calls, and sales, and hope it would catch a newspaper journalist who would take it further and write an article on it, probably even interview you.

Let’s dive right in and first take a look at the 13 Benefits of Press Releases.

  1. It expands your online reach beyond your website, social media, and ads – depending on where you publish and distribute it, your press release can instantly reach a very large audience.
  1. Will get immediate exposure to an established audience at a low cost.
  1. It will increase traffic to your website – use it to promote specific content on your site.

Or create a landing page and track the traffic results.

  1. It can increase leads & sales – use leads magnets and opt-in forms on those web pages to generate new leads.

A lead magnet is an email for info exchange. PDF, email message, video, and more.

You can make limited-time specials available.

  1. It can be SEO optimized to rank in Google searches.
  1. It can have links to your website and use keywords in the links to help with SEO (called anchor text).
  1. It can be shared on social media – by you and everyone who sees it.
  1. It can include multimediaimages, infographics, and video.
  1. It can include your logo, business name, address, phone, email, and website address.
  1. It can build brand mentions & links to your website from other websites, which boosts the ranking power of your website.
  1. It promotes your brand and gives it more authority.
  1. If done well, you may catch the attention of a news journalist who may wish to write about the subject further and interview you for the piece.
  1. It can be expanded upon and repurposed later as a blog post, infographic, social post, and more.

Here are 8 reasons to issue a press release / what they can be used for:

  1. New products or services
  1. Events – company events
  1. New Hires – announce new hires, internal promotions, retirements,
  1. New Jobs / Projects – announce big new jobs
  1. Awards – did your company or its employees win any awards? Did you get certified or licensed in something new? Announce it.
  1. New website
  1. New sponsorship – local team or non-profit
  1. Announce a contest and there are dozens of other possibilities and opportunities
Episode 24 - Using press releases for marketing

Now let’s look at 8 tips on how to craft a press release.

  1. Best to hire a writer who specializes in press releases.
  1. Be specific – speak to a particular audience and subject.
  1. Use short power headlines.
  1. Include great body copy that’s interesting, informative, and keeps people reading. Use data and statistics where they apply, and cite your sources. Don’t be too promotional; make it a newsworthy story. (Hire a PR writer or pick it for local journalists!)
  1. Include company name, contact name, complete address, phone, email, website address, and a short clip on what you do and who you serve.
  1. End with a call to action – take them to your website, have them call – engage!
  1. Keep it short = < 500 words – use bullet points – use sub-headings.
  1. If you can link it to a current trend or event, you may gain additional attention.

Lastly, where you publish your press release matters – distribution is everything – large publications can provide huge exposure.

Location is everything just like real estate – where you get seen important.

Consider using a PR firm that specializes in your industry or city, or distribution service.

Find out what publications they work with. Do they also include local packages?

Do they know your business & industry?

Do they distribute to publications in your industry?

Are they in your budget?

Can they send you samples & average traffic data for your type of business?

Will they provide data on what publications picked up the PR, how many times it was read, how many times it was forwarded, etc.?

Tracking it with links to a landing page in the body copy can also help you track success.

In summary, Press releases can be a very effective marketing tool. They can work together with your website and social channels to create information and sales funnels that generate leads for your business while building your brand.

We use NewsWire to distribute our client’s press releases to thousands of trusted national, regional, and state media outlets.

Alright, I hope that helped some of you. Thanks for sharing your time and attention with us today.

Good luck out there and create a great day!

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Founder & CEO of Battle Plan Marketing, LLC. We customize marketing strategies and solutions for home service companies. Mark has over 30 years experience in sales and marketing, 20 years as a business owner or partner, and over a decade in digital marketing and website design. We offer analysis, strategy, project implementation and management, and marketing coaching. Mark is also host of the new Battle Plan Marketing® Podcast.
Mark Ambrose
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