Are commercial newswires effective for public relations?

Commercial newswires have their place in PR. Commercial newswire services charge companies to distribute their news.

The big players in this space – at least in the United States – are Business Wire, Cision PR Newswire, Cision PR Web, GlobeNewswire, etc.

These are often confused with newswire services, also known as news agencies.

The only barrier preventing companies from (over)using these press release syndication services is typically money.

Because journalists are rarely sitting around monitoring newswires and uneager to receive massive amounts of news releases, these commercial newswire services are ideal for:

Public companies who must disclose news to markets
Major private companies like Koch, Publix, Staples, and Bass Pro Shop that have dedicated beat writers covering their every move
Companies making big and highly newsworthy announcements

Although press release syndication services are a great way to blast your news release all over the globe, it’s really a form of paid media for press releases. It's unlikely to stay online for more than a few weeks or a month, and it won't be nearly as valuable as true organic earned media coverage genuinely written by a staff writer or other individual affiliated with the news outlet.

Instead, we typically recommend our clients invest in a
documented-proven process for earning media coverage:

This means:

Investing their first dollars in hiring experts, such as a PR agency like Axia Public Relations, who can demonstrate established connections and a portfolio of earned media coverage and has a track record for earning news coverage
Do the right amount of media pitching and direct news distribution first
Our process calls for three rounds of follow-ups
If there’s still money available, put your remaining available dollars into press release syndication services. We do that after the media pitching efforts have been exhausted.

Commercial newswire services are a great way to exhaust every opportunity to share your news. And depending on the announcement and how newsworthy it is, you may want to use press release syndication services first, midway through the campaign, or at the tail end of the campaign.

At Axia PR, we currently perceive that BusinessWire is the highest quality solution among press release syndication services. That might be because, depending on what you're trying to do, it might be the most expensive platform. That allows them to invest in technology and keep out the junk.

Either way, our clients are typically buying posts on these press release syndication services from our agency's MediaReach, because of our relationships, reputation, and volume pricing. We typically point our clients to post on PR Newswire because our agency discount on PR Newswire reselling is tough for anyone to beat.

Clients love Jason’s passion, candor, and commitment as well as the team he has formed at Axia Public Relations. He's advised some of America’s most admired brands, including American Airlines, Dave & Buster’s, Hilton, HP, Pizza Hut, and Verizon. He is an Emmy Award-winning, accredited public relations practitioner, speaker, author, and entrepreneur and earned his certification in inbound marketing. He founded the PR firm in July 2002. Learn more about Jason.