- 3 years ago
28 July 2023
I have to admit to a love-hate relationship with the humble press release. Sure, I believe there is still a place for the press release but, in an age of content overload and with AI spitting releases out faster than a human, what role can it play in today’s already overly cluttered content world?
As legend has it, the press release stems all the way back to a train crash in New Jersey in 1906 when a young man in PR convinced railway executives to put out a statement rather than stay quiet, and voila! the press release was born.
Fast forward more than a century and press releases are big business – so much so that most working journalists can attest to getting swamped with releases on a daily basis, these mass-pitches filling up our inboxes faster than we can delete them.
An issue with the press release is its scattergun approach. Often sent to multiple outlets, the goal seems to be to get as many “mentions” as possible. It’s a strategy that’s been around for decades. The problem is, from an editor’s perspective, if it’s in a release, it invariably has little value. But here’s the real kicker – even if it’s a great story, it’s unlikely to get many reads.
The 21st-century reader is savvy and seems to have developed a sixth sense for a press release story. A similar headline across a number of outlets kicks this sense into action, causing them to read the headline and move on. This seems to be particularly true for releases boasting of corporate successes. Workplace award? Handed the staff a day off? Good for intra-company news, but not much else. There is a place for these but it is usually your own social media channels.
So, when should you issue a press release? Milestone events or stories already in the public domain such as regulatory approvals, public announcements, reports, etcetera still invariably respond well to this approach, the press release allowing you to add to the conversation, alert a wider audience to an announcement while controlling your message in a relatively sanitised way.
So, if not a press release, what should you do? If you want cut-through, you need to be strategic and engage a media outlet (or outlets) that best cover your target audience, and then pitch your story in a way that allows them to really engage their readers. Modern media is no longer about clicks – we want readers to stay with the story, to watch it or listen to it or read it in its entirety, to make a lasting impression.
At MedNews, one of our key metrics is time on page as this tells us whether people have read and engaged with the story, or just bounced right along. Having a lasting impact on readers is gold and where good corporate affairs people – and good journalists – excel. Being an exceptional storyteller, knowing the angle that readers will engage with, understanding what readers want – that’s what you’re looking for.
We all want stories that move the dial, that make a difference, that change opinions, that make a lasting impression on your reputation – who you are and what you stand for – and that’s something the humble press release will never achieve. Quality trumps quantity, and less is best.
So the conclusion is that while the press release is alive and will continue to be here for some time yet, don’t overuse it. It’s a means to an end, but not the answer to all your communications dreams. Readers today are far more savvy than those of 1906, and communications experts need to be smarter in how they reach them.
Got something to say on this topic? Comment below or email megan@mednews.com.au.
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