Sandy Lawrence
Guest post author Sandy Lawrence is one of the top social media influencers in Houston. Want to get exposure on Huffington Post and other top online publications? Sign up for her webinar on June 16 and get a free DIY PR Guide. Sandy was one of our Product Success Secrets students and we are proud to feature her webinar on our blog.
As I am getting ready to host a webinar on PR, it occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, in this Digital World in which we live, people may not even understand the value of a press release or, in marketing, terminology—the Benefit! Is there still a place for press releases in today’s social world? We have so many other marketing tactics, why would you choose to use a press release? Does it offer any benefit over marketing efforts?
When used with a well thought out strategy, a press release can actually provide a number of significant benefits. A press release will allow you to:
Break Through!
A press release is an excellent tool to bring awareness to you or your book or your coaching, or your accountability business. A press release offers several opportunities to reach a much larger audience, outside your current circle of influence. You can use a service like PR Web or PR Newswire to capture the attention of bloggers and media outlets to link to your release, republish it, or cover your news story in their publication or media outlet.
If you have the relationships with the media you can send your press release directly to them. You can encourage your subscribers to forward the release and share on their social media sites. You can share on your social media. And when you issue a social media press release then you can get exposure and awareness from social shares.
Get Noticed!
The press release is a great opportunity to use and integrate links to your website, social media or blog sites. When your release reaches your audience or when someone searches Google using the keywords you have identified, many of them will click on the links and follow or connect with you. It’s important to make sure that the links in your press release support your goals for the release.
For example, if you want to drive traffic to an opt-in page and build your list then the link in your press release should go to your opt in page. It’s a common error to link to the home page or even a media page or about page.
Be Known
If you’re leveraging a press release to launch a new product or service, then you may see an increase in sales. You may even experience this benefit even if you’re not specifically trying to increase sales.
An announcement about an event, for example, may attract the attention of people who in the process of learning more about your event, decide to follow you on social media, share your information with their followers, or even make a purchase. Once you begin creating the relationship, getting to know them and moving through the “know, like and trust” process, you begin to see an increase in sales.
Other Benefits
There are many opportunities to strengthen your brand with a press release. Through the use of storytelling and case studies or testimonials in your press release you gain credibility. Depending on the information being provided in your release, you can establish your authority in the industry. Additionally, it’s a great opportunity to communicate your message through additional information, links, and supporting content.
Media Coverage
Let’s not forget that if the media decides to pick up your story and cover your company, you have tremendous opportunity to increase your branding, exposure, and sales. For many, that’s the ultimate goal for a press release and a solid PR campaign.
Easy to Use
Finally, it’s important to point out that press releases are easy to use and integrate into your marketing strategy. Distribution services make uploading, tracking, and achieving your goals much easier than you might imagine. With a solid plan, you can really make press releases work for you and your business.
The important part of any press release is to ensure that it makes sense within the context of your business, your audience, your goals, and your marketing. You’ll have a much larger return on investment and you’ll reap the discussed benefits, and more, when you’re able to successfully integrate your releases into your existing marketing.
