Notes

PR strategies for business
Question: Why should your business issue a news release? Answer: as you have something to state, you want to say it in public and a news release encourages the press to say it for you personally. And because you intend to show your business in a favourable light from the outset and begin 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 owning a home based business - pay scant focus on PR, yet that's just what they should be doing from the start to obtain names and products known. For some 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 permitting them to know why they must be interested. It's about getting column inches in newspapers and magazines and fulfilling the adage that an inch of good editorial will probably be worth a page of advertising. It's about making your sales easier.

Issuing press releases is a mainstay of basic PR. It's the method that you start the ball rolling with the press. The good news is, if approached correctly (whether you do-it-yourself or use an inexpensive professional, this activity do not need to cost the planet earth).

But do remember that you're presenting your organization to the general 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 in favour of spending money on professional writing skills. PR writers don't just turn out good English: they discover 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 no good. The time to produce a business announcement is once you have something topical and newsworthy to say (but remember: what you consider topical is probably not of interest to the wider world or even to journalists). All releases require a strong 'hook' - basically, an angle which will appeal to editors and give your story a good chance of gaining coverage.

So, what will be considered newsworthy? For starters, 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 is, it must be presented as offering something reasonably new and interesting, not only as a "me too".

Hopefully, your product or service has particular benefits and applications which will interest your market segment and generate interest. If whatever you're launching is technically innovative or it's being marketed within an unusual or visible way, you could have the basis of a release. In cases like this, be sure 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 above example is full of hype but what's the merchandise? An accountancy service? A stationers? An abattoir?

Other company activities could be newsworthy. Perhaps you have appointed any new members of senior staff who have a reputation in your industry? Won a big contract or client? Get involved in a sponsorship deal? Perhaps you have 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 organisation to good causes are worth highlighting, as are initiatives that benefit the wider community. If celebrities or public figures are involved, your newsworthiness increase. The amount of interest will relate with the stature of your company and the type of your event. If a famous chocolate factory held an open day with lots of freebies, it might be of national press interest. If Bloggs the Grocers held a similar event, the neighborhood paper would be the main target.

If you are seeking newsworthy stories, don't forget one of your best assets - your personnel. Have any employees been recognised for outstanding achievements? Do read more will have unusual hobbies? Have they received any unusual requests or orders from customers your company has fulfilled? The local press might opt for a quirky human-interest story.

Whatever the reason behind your announcement, remember this rule of thumb: just one more pizzeria on a higher street filled with pizzerias won't gain many column inches, regardless of 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!) might just. Sometimes it's even worth discovering an offer of some sort (particularly in retailing) only to garner press interest.

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

Finally, if you are targeting different press sectors with the same story, write multiple releases instead of issuing one generic release. An announcement concentrating on the metallurgy used to create your new range of stainless cooking pans would be of interest to the trade press. However, it wouldn't be looked at 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 someone happens to get. Professional PR distributors retain up-to-date lists of all the journalists in each industrial sector and geographical region, and have a great deal of care to target the proper journalists with the proper 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 a professional UK-based press release writing and distribution service that delivers news to the media along with other opinion formers quickly and affordably.
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