As many small business leaders know, communicating information through a press release can be formulaic. Press releases follow a typical pattern, systematically outlining some combination of the who, what, where, when and why to convey one central message, like a new product or service. While the marketing staple is a straight-forward utility, it may not always attract the attention businesses seek. What if we told you that you can increase the visibility of your press release by more than 5,000 percent?
PR Newswire analyzed its trove of over one million press releases (the company got to that figure as a global distributor of information used by marketers, corporate communicators and public affairs officers) and found that documents with visual elements produce more hits over those that do not include any visual enhancements – to the tune of 5,092 percent. And no, Microsoft Clip Art won’t cut it. Specific, powerful photos that directly speak to your central message are best. But this goes beyond photos. Believe it or not, the key to that 5,000 percent may be in one of your browser’s tabs right now. Before we tell you what you should include in your next press release, take a look at some of the data PR Newswire produced:
- One visual element can increase your press release’s visibility by 92 percent;
- Multiple visual elements, like a photo or graphic, will get you a 552 percent increase in visibility.
- Multimedia and campaign microsites produce a 5,092 percent increase.
So clearly, multiple media components and microsites, are valuable. Microsites can be a dedicated page or link that puts the focus on one product or service. It’s easy to see why this approach makes sense. Scan your social media accounts and you will be hard pressed to see a shortage of rich media. Our e-world is heavily populated with Instagram videos, Facebook, live broadcasts, plugs for Snapchat accounts, catchy videos and so on.
Basic video-editing software, similar to iMovie that is readily available for you iPhone, makes it easier than ever to produce a video with text overlays and basic effects that are sure to get your clients’ attention. Or, you can simply hire a firm to produce a high-quality video to attach to your release. You can use the video on a separate page, with other dynamic content and information, to create your own microsite for maximum visibility.
Besides the smart use of photos, videos or GIFs, Mashable outlines a few other ways to get the most mileage from your press releases, which we analyze below.
Link, link, link
After you email your press release and publish it online, get to linking. This means put the link on Twitter, on Facebook, on your Instagram bio, everywhere. Put it on Reddit or StumbleUpon. Make sure people are Pinterested, too. Then, ask your employees and partners to do the same.
Google it
Three letters: SEO. Writing your press release must follow the basics of search engine optimization to make sure it shows up in those Google searches. Craft your press release in the same manner that you would search for a product or service on Google. Be specific and all-inclusive with your keywords. Tools like Google AdWords can also help you expand your database of search-friendly words. But overall, thinking digitally and including multimedia elements that we are so accustomed to in our everyday lives will give your press releases the visibility factor.