Rethinking the press release: How to reach larger audiences

Public relations departments and agencies are prodigious creators of content, and much of that content is in the form of press releases.

Many press releases issued today appear to be rather traditional in terms of formatting and goals, even though more opportunities exist for PR pros to reach audiences and influence outcomes. We need to rethink the press release—it’s time to expect more from them in terms of audience reached and outcomes delivered.

Audience

Traditional media—and their new media audiences. Traditional newsrooms are still the primary objective for most campaigns featuring press releases. However, it’s important to remember that journalists at all different types of media outlets are now charged with creating content for blogs, podcasts, and videos—not to mention feeding the social media engines that power today’s audience engagement. Instead of thinking about targeting a journalist as you craft your message, think about his or her audience (and what would be interesting to them) instead.