The Public Relations Blog

Three steps for an effective press release that can earn your company media coverage

For over 120 years, the news release has helped public relations professionals communicate important information efficiently. A press release allows a company to share newsworthy information to target audiences and ensures they all consistent, accurate information. It is an official statement of your company’s stance and can position you as a leader.

To get started spreading your company’s newsworthy messages, follow these three tips for writing a news release like the PR pros.

We asked some of the nation’s most successful media relations practitioners to share their best practices.

Earning media coverage is becoming more and more challenging and competitive for public relations and corporate communications professionals. That’s because traditional newsrooms are shrinking, and positive media coverage is now more precious than ever before. While the best PR pros are still getting ink for their employers and clients, it’s always helpful to uplevel your game.

Use UTMs and Google Analytics to enhance your data on link clicks in press releases.

Your company has just finished up a news release. Everything looks complete, and it’s been copy edited. It’s ready to go, right? Not yet. Before you send out a news release, you should add Urchin Tracking Module, or UTM, codes to links that go to websites you own in a press release.

10 additional PR strategies and tactics you should add to your PR program

When people unaware of public relations talk about PR, they usually envision it as a world of press releases and wining and dining, all with the ultimate goal of getting media coverage. However, these are far from what modern PR is like.

Modern PR practitioners use various tools, such as social media, and have many strategies to help spread a company's story worldwide. The rise of effective data gathering has helped PR pros refine ideas in a way that never would've been possible a few decades ago. While media coverage is still part of PR, it's no longer what defines it.

Avoid unethical business practices to keep your reputation safe.

While many companies seek earned media coverage, they always hope the news media will portray them in a positive light. And while public relations efforts can increase your chances of positive news media coverage, it’s important to realize the news media doesn’t have to honor your positive reputation.

News media outlets publish stories their consumers will find newsworthy. Newsrooms use a range of news elements that news consumers care about in their stories to give the stories news value, and not all of these elements will bode well for your company. If you consume news media, you may notice how many stories feature some sort of scandal – whether it’s some celebrity feud or, in our concern, negative company news.

Marketing is one of the biggest ways to grow your brand, and doing so takes time, effort, and money. However, not all methods of advertising are built the same. Radio advertising, for example, specializes in reaching a wide net of captive listeners who are doing other activities, such as driving or working. 

Radio stations offer advertising packages that your company can purchase that include on-air “liners,” or ads, that will promote your company. Your company can also be the sponsor of a morning show or the whole studio for a particular station, giving your brand significant airtime throughout the day. 

In this episode, Mark Mohammadpour, CEO of Chasing the Sun, joins host Jason Mudd to discuss why the PR profession is so stressful and how you can overcome some of that stress. 

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Writing and submitting a bylined article can offer many benefits for you and your company – it doesn’t have to be a daunting task. When you’re an expert in your field and within your company, there are other people and even other companies that will benefit from your expert knowledge, which is the first step in recognizing that you should create and write a bylined article for submission. Here are the top nine things you need to know before submitting articles for publication. 

In this episode, Shanita Akintonde, CEO of ShanitaSpeakes, joins host Jason Mudd to talk about how you can sell your company’s sizzle. She describes how to build anticipation and brand loyalty for your company as well as ways to make your company notable and quotable. She provides examples of large brands selling themselves successfully and explains how you can do it for your company too.

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In this solocast, host Jason Mudd describes why it’s important to continue to invest in PR during a recession and provides ways to keep your company in consumers’ minds. 

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