A press release helps brands create awareness around any new product or service launch and lets the world know about any relevant changes or company updates. Marketing strategists and advertisers often include PRs or press releases in their campaigns because they create an authentic impact on the brand's audience reach and reputation.
When it comes to audience reach and visibility of the brand, something that creates the most impact is SEO, which translates to Search Engine Optimization. Press Releases are also another great way to improve any brand's SEO in the digital realm. So, let's see what a press release is, when and why you should prepare one, and how to write an SEO-optimized press release.
What are Press Releases?
PRs are official written statements or announcements from brands that are directly sent to media outlets and channels for public coverage. They are often crafted by public relations specialists and are used to provide very specific information about any newsworthy event or update. These are generated for free media publicity but at the same time, PRs are great for building brand awareness and image.
What are Press Releases Written for?
Different types of PRs are crafted on different occasions. Usually, a press release is written to announce something. They can announce –
- Any new product or service
- Any new branch opening
- Any messages regarding any workshop program or event of the company
- The company’s point of view or narrative at times of a crisis
- Any company acquisition or merger
- Change in management
- Study or survey results
- Awards, grants, prizes, or publications
- Vacancies for positions in the company
- Any recent public event
What are the Technicalities When You are Writing a Press Release?
There is a difference between a normal PR and a well-crafted PR and that difference is what makes the journalists either take your story and publish it on the platform or just move past it. Here are the must-haves for your next PR –
i) Ensure its Newsworthiness – When you are submitting a playlist, you need to make sure that the content is relevant and deserves to be published as a news story. Journalists and reporters are flooded with hundreds of PRs and pitches every day and ignore them because the content is not relevant to their work and field.
ii) 5Ws and 1H: the Golden Rule – Another must-have that you need in your PR is the golden rule of news writing, the 5Ws and 1H. These answer all the relevant questions the reporters or editors need to know about the content, which is,What happened, Who did it, Why it happened, Where it happened When it happened, and lastly, How it happened.
iii) Make the Headline and Summary as Clear as Possible – Most of the time reporters or journalists are in a hurry so they do not get to read the whole thing before deciding they do not want to go forward with the story. Your motive is to make them publish your PR so in the content, the headline or title along with the summary should clearly indicate what the PR is about.
iv) Keep it Professional – While writing PR content, the language should be simple, and understanding and throughout the entire writing, a professional and precise tone should be maintained. Also, make sure the writing is free of any grammatical errors or mishaps!
How to Make Your Press Release SEO-optimized?
SEO or Search Engine Optimization is important when it comes to gaining more visibility with the help of PRs. So here is how you can make your content more SEO-ready.
i) Keywords and Titles – A well-crafted PR can be a really powerful tool that promotes your business and genuinely gets increased web traffic. To ensure the fact that PR content can be easily found online, you can craft keyword-enriched titles that will help you improve your SEO results.
ii) Keywords in the Content Body – The importance of keywords in the world of SEO is maximum so your focus should not be only putting the keywords in the title but also in the content body. Search engines like Google and Yahoo will index your PR according to the keywords you have used. So make sure you are using relevant keywords throughout the PR content, but do not go overboard.
iii) Backlinks – Another tip that will help you create a well-crafted and SEO-optimized PR is the usage of backlinks. These links will increase the credibility of the content and will help you build relationships with other bloggers and websites. The more backlinks you will get, the more improved SEO your content will become.
These are the most important tips and tricks you need to follow while creating your next press release. Always remember, PRs can be really impactful if you know how to use them correctly!
