Please enjoy these helpful tips from Frank Strong of Vocus.
Press releases can be an effective way for small businesses to drive visibility and sales. As Barbara Kantor, who runs a small e-commerce business once said, “…every time I’m in the media, my sales go up.”
However, the media landscape is changing. Print circulations are falling, some news organizations are outsourcing journalism and old school newspapers are tapping new media to aid in their battle to gain market share. In large part this is being driven by content on the Internet, which is also changing the way we think about press releases.
Are press releases still a good idea to reach the media? Yes, however they aren’t just for the media anymore. Just like the Internet is changing the media, it’s provided a new way to reach out to customers. As such, press releases as part of an overall marketing program can be an effective way to reach your customers directly, improve your visibility in search engines and social media, and drive traffic to your web site.
To get the most out of your online news release considers the following tips:
>>> Be creative with your news.
A restaurant owner might offer tips or recipes for making the most of leftovers taken home in a doggie bag. An air conditioning repair service might offer advice for preventative maintenance on air conditioners now that summer is coming. There is no limit to what you can come up with, just ensure it provides value to your customers.
>>> Hot link key words in your press release.
Be sure to link key words to matching content on your web site. For example, if you provide HVAC services, be sure to link your key word, HVAC to your site, in this case the theoretical www.besthvac.com — so that the word in your release is linked with the keyword HVAC
>>> Consider using multimedia.
Multimedia like images and videos (such as those posted to YouTube) can be easily incorporated into online press releases. These help in a few ways. First, these show your customer your product or service in action — a picture is worth a 1,000 words. Second, new research indicates that readers spend more time reading online news releases that incorporate images than those without images. Multimedia also provides a piece of content for search engines, like Google, to index, which will also help your search engine visibility.
The Internet is also a good place to find more advice on how to write and publish online news releases and other quick tips.
Here are a few case studies on other small businesses that have successfully used online news releases for marketing success:
- Publicity builds publicity – A PR case study on Furnace MFG
- How Pizza Fusion Grew a Franchise on a Shoe String Budget
- Self-defense Business Boosts SEO, Press Coverage and Sales Leads
Frank Strong is the director of PR for Vocus and PRWeb, an online news and press release distribution service of Vocus geared for small- and medium-sized businesses.
P.S. Denise here. Frank really knocked those tips out of the park, didn’t he? Make sure you pay a visit to the resources he shared. And take a second to watch my PR primer below.
About Denise O'Berry
[...] for a broad audience. Traditionalists believe news releases are only for the media, but PRWeb has proven you can reach audiences directly. A news release doesn’t have to be [...]