In today’s faced-paced world, your company is doing a lot to get make the most of the web, whether it is search engine optimization, price per click advertising, or behavioral targeting. But when was the last time you sent out a press release? 

While these alerts send to journalists and media representatives may seem like an antiquated concept from years gone by, press releases are surprisingly relevant in today’s world, and may actually offer a better return on your investment than some of the more modern tools of the trade.

Press releases can benefit your company in several ways:

• Increase Incoming Links. You may choose to have a press release service set up a distribution list for you, compile your own list or a combination of the two. Which ever way you choose, your press release, along with its incoming links to your site will be filtered to hundreds (or even thousands) of sites throughout the web. This in turn may also increase your search engine ranking.
• Increase traffic on your site. Of course, the purpose of the incoming links is to direct traffic to your site. Note that while your press release will be directed toward journalists, many of the sites that receive press releases aren’t limited to media professionals. You will be able to reach consumers directly through your press release.
• Generate interviews. The benefits listed above will happen even if your press release is never picked-up by a media organization. But if your press release achieves its chief goal and you are contacted for an interview, the benefits can be exponential. One interview can be noticed by thousands of potential customers who will head to your site. In addition, you can use media exposure to generate even more attention from the media by contacting other organizations.

These unexpected benefits come with another pleasant surprise, distributing press release can be relatively inexpensive, compared to some of the newer tools available to web marketers, including price per click services on search engines.

Of course, not all press releases get picked up by the media, and to maximize their benefit, you should take care to make sure they are well-written and that both your website and your company are receptive to journalists, should they come a calling.

In order to do so, consider taking the following steps:

• Write to your audience. Remember, you are not writing an internal memo or to distributors who are already familiar with your products or services. Make sure the press release is both interesting and understandable for the editors. Avoid using any technical jargon, and explain any terminology you do have to use.
• Use standard formats. Remember you won’t be writing the news story in the press release itself, but a description of the story. Press releases follow a standardized format. Search the web for a sample to model yours after.
• Make your website journalist-friendly. It may be helpful to put up a “for the media” section of your site where you can list the appropriate contact people and their information. Additionally, have a description of what your company does and any other press releases your have issued.
• Be able to reply to answer inquires quickly. Journalists work on tight deadlines. Make sure your company is able to attend to questions promptly.

While SEO and PPC services play an important role in today’s e-commerce world,  the old-world press release are still surprisingly relevant.

By David Plowman

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 26th, 2006 at 8:48 am and is filed under Online advertising. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.