There is a lot of confusion out there about the nature and merit of the press release—and it’s worth pausing for a moment to clear some of it up.
You may have heard it said that the press release is dead—that it’s an old-fashioned marketing gimmick, and frankly not worth the financial investment. The Grammar Chic, Inc. team obviously doesn’t feel this way: Not only do we offer press release writing services for many of our clients, but we distribute a new company press release every single week, and will readily attest that the ROI is there.
Different Uses
The stigma against press releases comes from their status as a one-time SEO gimmick. Way back when—as in, five years ago—companies could use press releases, loaded with keywords, to propel their links to the top of the Google search engine results page. It was sort of an SEO cheat that Google has wisely corrected; no longer can you use fraudulent of lackluster press releases simply to give SEO juice to your website. So yes, fair enough: As an SEO gimmick, the press release really is dead.
But what about building actual brand buzz? Winning the attention of bloggers and members of the press, and earning website traffic—legitimately—as a result? What about getting your company’s name out there in Google News searches, and keeping your customers informed about what’s going on with your company?
Read All About It
For all of these purposes, a press release can still prove mightily effective. The trick is to ensure that you’re not using it as an SEO ploy, but rather that you’re actually using your press release the way press releases are meant to be used—that is, using it to share actual news that someone might be interested in reading and sharing.
It’s like we say about blogs, social media posts, and even your business website: The important thing is offering something of value, which in this case means something newsworthy. Some examples of newsworthy press release topics include:
– Actual company news, like new jobs created, extended hours, a new location, an award won, or something like that.
– A seasonal/temporary promotion or sale.
– The launch of a new company website or blog.
– A commentary on industry trends. For this style of press release, it’s important to find an actual hot topic—a trend or news story within your industry—and offer a genuinely substantive take on it. A recent Grammar Chic post, for instance, piggybacked off a news article about the summer job search doldrums, and offers some summer-specific resume writing tips for jobseekers.
An interesting and informative press release can serve the save function as an interesting and informative blog post—establishing your brand’s authority or simply spreading the word about what you offer to customers. To learn more, contact the Grammar Chic press release writing team today: Visit http://www.grammarchic.net, or call 803-831-7444.
The Red Ink 