Submitted by Mike Gibaldi, APR, Account Manager, Business Wire
Unless you've been on a long sabbatical from our industry or have been living under a rock for the past few years, you know that the press release has evolved well beyond its original role.
The original, sole role of a press release: present a compelling, 'newsworthy' message to a journalist in the inverted pyramid structure in the hopes of getting editorial coverage.
The new role: the original role, plus, plus.
Business Wire absolutely believes in the original role of the press release and supports it with our core distribution service and a nationwide media relations team that is in continual contact with the nation's traditional journalists. Nothing beats third party endorsement by the Fourth Estate. However, for good or bad, the gatekeeper role of traditional media has greatly changed. Business and consumer audiences demand and get their news unfiltered, when they want it, where they want it and how they want it.
All this provides an opportunity to treat the humble press release as an interactive marketing tool.
Think Google news alerts, MyYahoo, MyBusinesswire, myfavoriteindustrywebsite.com, podcasts, blogs, social media and RSS feeds. Information is no longer contained in neat, vertical silos but has spilled and flattened out as far as the eye can see – to be shared, repurposed and aggregated.
The news consumer is driving the process and if you're not tweaking your press release approach to work in the new environment, you will fade to the margins of the public relations and marketing community.
In a nod to the original role with a few modern twists, Business Wire offers this traditional release writing advice.
And looking at here and now, and considering the almighty and ubiquitous Google, we offer writing for robots vs. reporters.
Let's not concede the opportunity presented by the interactive press release to others in the integrated marketing spectrum. It belongs with the PR profession. Business Wire is working hard to help our clients EXPAND their piece of the new communications pie.
We invite you to visit the Business Wire website and the BusinessWired blog to learn more.
Enjoy the beach!
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