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100 years old!
I recently joined a Bulldog Reporter panel to discuss “smart” press releases and the art of creating SEO (search engine optimization) and Social Media Releases and the differences and advantages of each over traditional releases.
As the conference rolled along, I found myself thinking that before we jumped into this important topic, we should have started with the basics of what makes a release worthy of attention – regardless of SEO optimization or Social Media optimization (SMO).
As you may or may not know, I’ve been a proponent of reforming press releases since I was able to integrate HTML and multimedia into them back in the mid-to-late 90s. Do you want to know the first thing I learned?
No matter how tricked-out your press release is with “extras,” if it is still full of garbage, then we’re only placing our trash in a fancier container.
This isn’t anything new however. Journalists have been complaining about the press release even before I was in the game, which for the record, has been for a long, long time.
What’s important in these remarkable times, however, is that whether it’s good or bad, technology has globalized and democratized information, allowing press releases to reach journalists and customers directly – without ever having to send a pitch or make a call.
According to Outsell, Inc. in November 2006, 51% of information technologists (IT) source their news from press releases found on Yahoo or Google News over traditional trade journals. While this is technology, I can assure you that this stat is probably equally compelling across a variety of major industries. What this means is that press releases are no longer limited to journalists, bloggers, and analysts, but also read by customers directly in order to help them make important decisions.
So in the face of this revelation, why are we, PR, still insistent and stubborn about not changing? Why do we still firmly plant our feet, and our heads, in the sand and expect greatness, when in fact all we deserve is expulsion from the conversations that are taking place out there with or without us. Or are we simply afraid to speak up for fear it might cost us our jobs.
Maybe it’s just like the bad driver syndrome. It’s up to everyone else to learn how to drive because we are flawless. Still using the driving analogy, I can guarantee that defensive drivers are the least likely to crash when compared to reactionary drivers that mosey along highways with blinders on.
Next up:
The need for multiple versions of the press release
PR in the Long Tail
SEO vs. Social Media vs. Smart Releases
ForemskiDefrenHeuer for their construction and distribution; Stowe Boyd who remindsHoltz, and continues to demonstrate the value of new releases; Shannon Whitley's work
continue to experimentAdditional Resources:
How to Write an SMR Template (and what it looks like on the wire)SocialHow How Don’tPRSociety
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