What Are Some Press Release Promotion Best Practices?
To help you master the art of press release promotion, we’ve gathered ten expert insights from CEOs, Founders, and PR Specialists. From leveraging social media for promotion to harnessing the power of storytelling, discover the best practices these industry leaders typically adopt to ensure their press releases gain maximum exposure.
- Leverage Social Media for Promotion
- Adopt a Multi-Channel Approach
- Personalize Pitches to Journalists
- Craft and Target Your Press Release
- Focus on Newsworthy Content
- Identify and Engage Relevant Media Outlets
- Enhance Press Releases with Multimedia
- Collaborate with Partners
- Utilize Paid Advertising for Broader Reach
- Leverage Storytelling
Leverage Social Media for Promotion
One way to promote press releases is to use the power of social media. As a PR consultant, my typical step is to encourage journalists involved in the content to share the press release on their social media channels. This strategy not only generates extra attention for the content but also builds additional links for the company’s website.
To draw attention, we use shout-outs, mentions, and branded hashtags, urging influencers and followers to do the same for maximum reach. The synergy between social media and PR amplifies the message’s impact and boosts overall brand visibility.
Matias Rodsevich
CEO, PRLab
Adopt a Multi-Channel Approach
A best practice for press-release promotion is to use a multi-channel approach to maximize reach and visibility.
First, distribution is vital, so using reputable press-release distribution services can ensure the release reaches a wide audience, including journalists and media outlets. Second, leverage owned-media channels such as the company website, blog, and social-media platforms to share the press release with existing followers and customers. This helps in reaching a more engaged audience.
Third, consider reaching out directly to industry-specific influencers or journalists who might find the release relevant to their audience. Building relationships with key media contacts can increase the chances of getting coverage.
Faizan Khan
Public Relations and Content Marketing Specialist, Ubuy UK
Personalize Pitches to Journalists
Sending a press release through a mass-distribution platform is only one part of the process. Taking the time to pitch journalists directly in industry-specific media can provide amazing results. Journalists receive heaps of pitches daily, so it’s important to make yours stand out.
Hyper-personalize your pitches, considering the publication and crafting a pitch that fits with their focus. Make it easy for the journalist to find important details by adding hyperlinks to any supporting graphics, press kit, and profiles.
Tori Bell
Digital PR Specialist, PR With Tori
Craft and Target Your Press Release
Promoting a press release effectively is crucial to ensure that your news reaches a wide audience and generates the desired attention and coverage. Start with a well-written and engaging press release that highlights the key aspects of your news. Ensure that it’s newsworthy, concise, and relevant to your target audience.
Determine the specific audience you want to reach with your press release. This could include journalists, bloggers, industry influencers, customers, investors, or the general public. Create a comprehensive list of media outlets, journalists, bloggers, and influencers who cover topics related to your press release. Make sure your list is up-to-date and includes relevant contact information.
Enhance your press release with multimedia elements like high-resolution images, infographics, videos, or audio clips. These elements can make your release more visually appealing and shareable. Sharing the press release on the company’s social media channels is also a good strategy.
Joe Li
Managing Director, CheckYa
Focus on Newsworthy Content
One of the best practices for press release promotion is to have something that is genuinely newsworthy. For many companies, the purpose of press releases is to try their best to get backlinks, rather than using press releases as an opportunity for sharing something that is truly newsworthy.
By focusing on something that is truly newsworthy, one will find that various additional press companies will be more likely to share the news, and as a result, one will likely get backlinks. This mindset is very different from going into the press release writing process with the intention of only getting backlinks, no matter the topic.
When a press release is written, it is distributed across as many channels as possible and shared across as many social media accounts as possible. The goal is to go viral over the next 24 hours upon release.
Sebastian Jania
Owner, Ontario Property Buyers
Identify and Engage Relevant Media Outlets
One of the key tools for promoting a press release correctly is to identify relevant media outlets. Some may think it’s best to reach out to as many as possible to see what sticks, and while this might sometimes work, it is actually a lot more beneficial to be selective. This is because you can really personalize what you are saying to capture that audience’s attention.
Build your list based on interests, niches, and specific topics that the media usually covers. You could have different lists for different types of announcements. Rather than having one giant list, you instead have more select ones which are purpose-built. You still have a lot of contacts; you just aren’t spamming them with press releases that won’t interest them.
Bobby Lawson
Technology Editor/Publisher, Earth Web
Enhance Press Releases with Multimedia
Promoting your press release can be enhanced by adding some pictorial elements to it. Including multimedia content such as images, videos, etc., can engage a wider audience in your story. Stories with a visual representation tend to receive more responses.
This also increases the credibility of the press release. Adopting this method, with each press release, some pictures and videos are sent out to support it. If there are no real-life images, a creative team creates some graphics that help. Such media elements help make the story more well-rounded and increase its likability to be broadcast.
CJ Lloyd, CEO, Utah’s Best Home Pros
Collaborate with Partners
One of the best things you can do to get the word out about your new press-release promotion is to work with partner brands in your industry. There is a list of partners that can be reached out to when there is a notable PR and more traction is desired. Often, they will allow a small guest post with the announcement.
Websites like NewsWire, EIN Presswire, and PR Web can be paid to get your press release out to a wider audience.
Syed Balkhi, Founder, WPBeginner
Utilize Paid Advertising for Broader Reach
Using paid advertising, such as Google Ads, Bing Ads, or any other platform, is also an effective way to reach a broader audience and make sure that your press release gets seen by those who are interested in the topic.
Additionally, these platforms have detailed targeting options, so you can fine-tune your messaging to ensure you’re getting the most out of your budget.
Keith Sant
Founder and CEO, Sell My House Company
Leverage Storytelling
A best practice for press-release promotion is to leverage storytelling to create a compelling narrative. By sharing the company’s success story and the journey it took to achieve its milestones, we can captivate the audience’s interest and build excitement around the press release.
When promoting a press release, we focus on crafting a captivating headline and engaging content that highlights the company’s achievements and the impact of the news. We strategically distribute the press release across various channels, including industry-specific media outlets, social media platforms, and our website, to reach our target audience effectively.
By combining storytelling with strategic promotion, we ensure that our press release receives the attention it deserves, resonates with our audience, and generates meaningful engagement and interest in our company and its accomplishments.
Luciano Colos
Founder and CEO, PitchGrade
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