PR strategies for business

Question: Why when your business issue a press release? Answer: as you have something to say, you want to say it in public areas and a news release encourages the press to say it for you personally. And because you intend to show your organization in a favourable light from the outset and commence the longer-term process of building awareness and understanding of your service or product.

There's a lot of research to show that young companies - weighed down by the business of simply running a new business - pay scant attention to PR, yet that's just what they must be doing from the very start to obtain names and products known. For most businesses, PR isn't about spin or the abstract maintaining of "good relations" with the press and public; it's simply about telling individuals who you and your products or services are there and letting them know why they must be interested. It's about getting column inches in newspapers and magazines and fulfilling the adage an inch of good editorial will probably be worth a full page of advertising. It's about making your sales easier.

Issuing press releases is a mainstay of basic PR. It's how you start the ball rolling with the press. The good thing is, if approached in the right way (whether you do-it-yourself or use an affordable professional, this activity need not cost the planet earth).

But do remember that you're presenting your organization to the public. A release that's poorly written, with grammatical or spelling mistakes, or full of jargon, or long-winded and unfocused, can perform you more harm than good. Given the importance of PR, there's something to be said towards spending money on professional writing skills. PR writers don't just turn out good English: they understand how to structure a news release and present facts in a way that appeals to busy journalists and grabs their attention.

The next question is: "When should I issue a news release?" Certainly, issuing releases willy-nilly, at whim, is not any good. The time to make a business announcement is once you have something topical and newsworthy to state (but remember: what you consider topical is probably not of interest to the wider world or to journalists). All releases need a strong 'hook' - quite simply, an angle that will appeal to editors and give your story a good potential for gaining coverage.

So, what will be considered newsworthy? To begin with, perhaps you're launching a new product or service? Or opening a fresh branch? Or you're launching a spin-off venture from scratch? Whatever it really is, it must be presented as offering something reasonably new and interesting, not just as a "me too".

Hopefully, your service or product has particular benefits and applications that will appeal to your market segment and generate interest. If whatever you're launching is technically innovative or it's being marketed in an unusual or high profile way, you could have the foundation of a release. In this instance, ensure you don't fill your release with unnecessary jargon or marketing-speak which could alienate journalists, such as for example "the cost effective, integrated, seamless, one-stop-shop treatment for meet all of your business needs." Tell people what it really is you're actually offering. The aforementioned example is full of hype but what's the product? An accountancy service? A stationers? An abattoir?

Other company activities could possibly be newsworthy. Have you appointed any new members of senior staff who have a reputation in your industry? Won a big contract or client? Become involved in a sponsorship deal? Have you received an accolade or won a business award? If that's the case, the trade press might be interested.

Forthcoming events can offer ideal material for announcements. Are you holding any open days, speakers' panels, rallies or debates? Charity events or donations from your own organisation to good causes are worth highlighting, as are initiatives that benefit the wider community. If celebrities or public figures are participating, your newsworthiness increase. The level of interest will relate with the stature of your company and the nature of your event. If a famous chocolate factory held an open day with plenty of freebies, it will be of national press interest. If Bloggs the Grocers held an identical event, the neighborhood paper will be the main target.

If you are seeking newsworthy stories, remember one of your best assets - your personnel. Have any employees been recognised for outstanding achievements? Do they will have unusual hobbies? Have they received any unusual requests or orders from customers your company has fulfilled? The neighborhood press might decide on a quirky human-interest story.

Whatever the reason behind your announcement, remember this rule of thumb: another pizzeria on a high street full of pizzerias will not gain many column inches, no matter how good the pizzas. But a pizzeria offering the latest jalapenos in the united kingdom, singing waiters, Italian cocktails with every meal or three for the price of two (or something!) Additional info just. Sometimes it's even worth coming up with an offer of some sort (particularly in retailing) only to garner press interest.

Remember to monitor the news headlines for events to hook into. Can you associate your company with upcoming holidays, public projects, or fads? Statements that may seem controversial, such as stating your organisation's stance on a volatile public issue, might gain coverage. Perhaps you have conducted research that gives you statistics you could release?

Finally, if you are targeting different press sectors with exactly the same story, write multiple releases rather than issuing one generic release. An announcement concentrating on the metallurgy used to generate your new range of stainless cooking pans would be of interest to the trade press. However, it wouldn't be considered too thrilling by the approach to life press and women's magazines.

You need to be cautious about what you're announcing and who it's targeted at, rather than utilizing the 'scattergun' approach and sending untargeted releases to whichever journalists you happen to find. Professional PR distributors retain up-to-date lists of all the journalists in each industrial sector and geographical region, and have a lot of care to target the proper journalists with the right releases. If you're distributing your release yourself, a few hours' homework can pay enormous dividends.

By Press Dispensary http://www.pressdispensary.co.uk Press Dispensary is really a professional UK-based news release writing and distribution service that delivers news to the media and other opinion formers quickly and affordably.