Digital Marketing today employs multiple channels like blogs and Press releases to inform, educate, and present newsworthy highlights. The objective around the channels is singular – to enhance the visibility of a brand in front of its target audience. A Press Release is one such channel that is used by organizations across the globe.

Let’s look at a basic understanding of what is a press release? We also check how digital marketers use press releases to boost digital marketing efforts.

A literal definition of Press Release says:

Written, audio taped, or video taped matter about a book, event, person, or program, presented by its promoters or principals to the media for editorial comment and free coverage. Also called media release or news release.

(Source – Business Dictionary)

What is a typical press release like?

In digital marketing, digital marketing and SEO companies use press releases to promote a new product launch, a significant news in the organizations, or an award or accomplishment achieved by the company. There are some essential characteristics that follow a press release –

1 – They are suitable for all types of media – print, digital, or TV

2 – They act as an official record for a company. Hence, readers consider them factually correct and relevant

3 – They are highly portable. We can share, quote, or reproduce without copyright concerns

4 – They can be used for improving online visibility when they are shared on appropriate platforms like PR NewsWire

5 – Content writers use impersonal, third party tone (never ‘we’, ‘our’, ‘us’ etc.) to write press release content

What is a typical press release format?

Based on our experience there are 6 key components

1 – The publishing timeline. For digital press release content, it is usually marked as ‘FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE’ at the very top

2 – The heading of the press release content. Imagine this to be very similar to a newspaper headline

2a – A social sharing tab for further distribution potential

3 – A sub-heading which gives a 1-2 liner description to elaborate on the main title

4 – A quote by the company representative

5 – An ‘About the Company’ section at the end that has a one para description about what the company does

6 – Contact details of the company or the PR agent handling the company’s communications.

Can a Press Release be good for lead generation?

Conventional digital marketing states that a press release is not used much for lead generation. However at Textuar, we strongly believe that the authority and portability aspect makes them an attractive piece of content. This type of content is shared many times and catches many eyeballs within your target market domain. A good copywriter looking at crafting press release with subtle sales hint can be the best bet to generate viable leads that have a high chance of converting to a sale.

Which are some good press release sites?

Now that you have got a good press release drafted it important to dedicate some time for its publishing. There are quite a few sites that have a good Google ranking and allow to link more than a single URL.

Some worthy press release sites are

1. PR.COM
2. 24-7pressrelease
3. PR News Wire
4. Market Wire
5. Release-News
6. PR Web

To conclude

A press release is an effective marketing channel. You need to factor in the copy creation process and its effective distribution in front of maximum people in your target market segment. This will help boost your branding to a great extent

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