Tag: news release

News Releases: Who Needs Them?

There have been some long, lengthy and actually quite interesting (for communication nerds like me, anyway) discussions in LinkedIn and other groups about the proper terminology for a commonly used communication tool designed to generate interest from the media — is it a “press” release, a “news” release, a “media” release or something else? Truth be told, it probably doesn’t matter what we call it — what really matters, pointed out the pragmatists in the group — is whether or not the desired results are achieved. And that created an entirely separate discussion!

Regardless of what you call it, is the practice of sending out self-proclaiming statements via “snail” mail or, now, email, a thing of the past? Are there better, more effective means of generating media attention? The answer is yes, and no… Continue reading “News Releases: Who Needs Them?”

5 Top Tips to Get the Media Coverage You’re Looking For

There are a lot of people, and businesses, out there hoping to get “free” media exposure. Many struggle, though, to attract attention from the reporters, editors and producers that serve as intermediaries between them and the audiences they hope to reach through PR/media relations. We frequently hear people say things like: “I can’t understand why the media won’t run a story on my…” Well, there may be a number of reasons. Continue reading “5 Top Tips to Get the Media Coverage You’re Looking For”

5 Reasons Your Pitch Isn’t Getting Picked Up by the Media and What to Do About It

by Linda Pophal

 

At least once a week – maybe more often – a colleague, prospect or client will say to me: “I can’t understand why the media won’t run a story on my…” Well, there may be a number of reasons. Here are 5: Continue reading “5 Reasons Your Pitch Isn’t Getting Picked Up by the Media and What to Do About It”

PR Pro Thinks Blog Posts are the New Press Release — But, What do Journalists Think?

I read an interesting blog post today from Arik Hanson’s blog “Communications Conversations” titled News releases or blog posts: What is the future of media relations? In it, he suggests that companies and individuals hoping to gain attention through the media should give up on the outmoded use of traditional news releases in favor of blogs. Blogs, he says, offer many benefits including: Continue reading “PR Pro Thinks Blog Posts are the New Press Release — But, What do Journalists Think?”

Gaining Traction With the Media

When I work with students and clients I like to tell them that there are four ways that consumers (whether B2B or B2C) learn about companies and their products and services:
  • Their own personal experiences
  • Word of mouth (WOM) from colleagues, friends and relatives
  • Media coverage/PR
  • Advertising done by these organizations

I list them in order from most impactful, to least. And, while advertising certainly plays an important role for many organizations, media exposure is more credible. Why? Because media coverage represents somebody else talking about you, versus you talking about yourself. It is not necessary to spend a lot of money on traditional advertising to get results these days. In fact, there are multiple opportunities for even the smallest of organizations to make an impact. For those seeking to boost awareness, preference and demand for their products and services without investing large amounts of money in paid advertising, the steps are: Continue reading “Gaining Traction With the Media”

Introducing Something New? How To Generate News!

Whether you’re opening a new business, launching a new product, hiring a new employee, writing a book, creating a blog, etc., etc., etc., there are a number of activities that your business might engage in that you feel should generate news. Problem is, there is often a gap (or seems to be) between what you think is newsworthy and what the new media think.

The good news is that even very small organizations can generate media exposure. They need, though, to follow some general guidelines. Continue reading “Introducing Something New? How To Generate News!”

Is The News Release — aka Press Release — Dead?

There was a long, lengthy and actually quite interesting (for communication nerds like me, anyway…) discussion in a LinkedIn group recently about the proper terminology for a commonly used communication tool designed to generate interest from the media — is it a “press” release, a “news” release, a “media” release or something else? Truth be told, it probably doesn’t matter what we call it — what really matters, pointed out the pragmatists in the group — is whether or not the desired results are achieved. And that created an entirely separate discussion! Regardless of what you call it, is the practice of sending out self-proclaiming statements via “snail” mail or, now, email, a thing of the past? Are there better, more effective, means of generating media attention? The answer–yes, and no… Continue reading “Is The News Release — aka Press Release — Dead?”

Is The News Release Dead? Not Necessarily.

Numerous online discussions these days raise questions about the continued effectiveness of the traditional “press release” – or as it is more accurately termed *news* or *media* release (since these communications aren’t intended only for the “press”). The discussions are interesting and raise a number of relevant points about how communicating with the media has changed with the advent of online tools and the proliferation of email vs. traditional “snail mail.” It’s fair to say that the number of traditional print releases *mailed* to news outlets has diminished significantly over the past several years. However, Continue reading “Is The News Release Dead? Not Necessarily.”