You’re launching a new product. You’ve got your marketing content ready: articles, infographics and landing pages. You’re ready to go out with social media posts across Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. But is there a channel you’ve overlooked? Have you got a press release ready to go out?
There’s so much emphasis on social media marketing at the moment that press releases are often forgotten. Some marketers view the press release as 'old fashioned' because it’s been around a long time, but the reality is it’s a tried and tested tool that's gained new value in the digital world. Let me explain why.
Reaching influential publishers.
Press releases get your message into the hands of the mass media. A social media update might get the attention of a journalist or influencer if they happen to notice it, but if you send them a press release, you can get their attention much more directly.
Why would a journalist publish your story? Because your press release will provide them with interesting, engaging content that their audience will find useful. In the twenty-four-hour news cycle, media outlets are always hungry for stories. If you give them well written, relevant content, there’s a good chance they’ll use it.
SEO benefits.
High-authority backlinks are one of the most important means of enhancing your website’s SEO. A high-authority backlink is a link to your website from a domain that has a track record of publishing high-quality content, like a news outlet or industry journal. Backlinks from high-authority, heavily trafficked sites have a big influence on SEO, thus determining your website’s position in Google search rankings.
One of the best-known examples of high authority backlinking is when a news outlet includes a link to a company’s website in an article. Effective press releases should include references to product news and research, that will encourage media websites to backlink your source material.
Press releases are cost-effective.
Your press release will give journalists and influencers all the information they need in one place. You’ll give them a well-constructed story, images, statistics and links that they can readily turn into an article or blog post.
Getting your story into a mass media channel will put it in front of a targeted audience who are actively looking for information.
Advertising incurs an ongoing cost, and as soon as you stop paying your message disappears. By contrast, a news article creates a reference to your business that keeps driving traffic to your website and building your SEO permanently. Once you’ve spent the time and money producing good marketing content, turning that material into a press release and sending it out costs very little.
Good content comes first.
The foundation of successful press release campaigns is quality content. You want to get people to visit your website and read about your products, so you need to share a story that piques their curiosity and offers them solutions.
Marshall Content Marketing will create premium quality content that engages your target audience; everything from thought leadership articles, to video scripts, and of course, press releases. Get in touch, and find out how to grow your business with content marketing.
Hi, I’m Emmanuel Marshall.
I create marketing campaigns that deliver useful, inspiring content to target audiences. I help businesses build communities around their brands and generate qualified leads. Let’s talk about how I can help you get your message out and build your brand.
