In our fast facts society, the press release has become a
great way to get information in front of the public. We no longer take time to
read books, we just look up quotes from great authors (at least we think they
are great authors when we get the quote of the day at the bottom of an email.
Who has time to check for sure?) If your business has news, a press release
keeps your clients informed about your most recent activities and keeps your
name in front of them as well. However, there are certain dos and don'ts when
publishing a press release.
Managing press release expectations
One common problem that fogs the thinking of many CEOs is
that a press release is a marketing tool that will drive hordes of business
sweeping down over the hills like locusts on fields of wheat. All they have to
do is make a statement and throw open the doors to make way for all the
customers. A press release is not your marketing plan. Most of the time, a
press release will give the market short little spurts of awareness. They are
not a long-term plan. Don’t get the two confused. News happens too quickly for
anyone to pay attention to your press release for very long. They simply read
it and get on with their lives. In that one moment, you need to make a clear,
concise statement that is worth the viewer's time to read.
Keeping it real
Don’t make outlandish claims about your product. A press
release is not an advertisement. It is newsworthy information about your
organization. Claims of exclusivity (i.e. the only one of its kind, no other
product does what this product does, etc.) will typically not be taken
seriously. If you want a news source to publish your press release, it has to
have credibility.
Keeping it simple
Stay away from industry insider language. What is a tiff?
Depending upon your industry, you may be describing the Tokyo International
Film Festival, a Tagged Image File Format, a mineral made up of barium sulfate,
or an argument between two people. The language of a press release must be
simple and unambiguous. If you need to use terms from your industry, make sure
you are defining them. This is where having a well written media kit can help
you. Most news outlets have very little time to research and put together a story
on your company. If you are expecting a newspaper, radio or TV report based on
your press release, you need to have a media kit that describes what your
organization does, who the key players are in your business, and the major
facts, including a short history of your company. This is supplemental
information that, coupled with the press release, can be used to put together a
news report or write an article. All of this needs to be in very easy to
understand language. You are expecting too much if you assume that a reporter
understands your industry jargon.
The gaffe-o-matic I
Press release 101: Make sure you carefully proofread a press
release before it goes out. In this day, once something hits the internet, you
cannot get it back. Don’t let the haste of getting a message into the hands of
the public make you think you can cut corners and not have at least two sets of
eyes carefully proofread your message. The office of former Ohio Attorney
General Marc Dann sent out a press release just before the Christmas shopping
began in 2007. The press release gave a hotline number for consumers to report
shopping problems. However, two numbers in the phone number were transposed,
and the listed number was for a sex hotline! The news release got a lot of
attention once the press found out about the mistake, but it was not exactly
the type of exposure the Attorney General’s office had in mind. You can never
be too careful in proofreading.
The gaffe-o-matic II
Press release 201: No press release should be sent before
its time. It is common to write a press release prior to an event actually
happening. That way, it can be sent out to news sources immediately after the
event takes place. However, make sure this is not released early. For instance,
it has been the practice of news gathering sources to write and file obituaries
on popular personalities. In 1998, the Associated Press sent out an obituary
announcing the death of actor Bob Hope. This happened while the US Congress was
in session. When the news was proclaimed on the floor of the House of
Representatives, congressmen began to take to the floor to eulogize Hope.
C-Span carried the whole incident live. The only problem was that Bob Hope had
not died. Shortly after C-Span started broadcasting the Hope eulogy, his
daughter issued a statement, "Dad is at home, having his breakfast.”
On the flip side of getting it out too early is getting it
out too late. A week old press release is like a week old newspaper. It is in
the recycling bin. A month old press release is ancient history. News happens
fast. Make sure you are timely with your press releases.
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Premature obituaries, Wikipedia.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_premature_obituaries
The "I Saw My Own Obituary” Society, by Christopher Bonanos. New York Magazine
http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/topic/64302/
photo by Vofpalabra