Why are press releases important?

Why are Press Releases Important?

Press releases are a very important part of the overall marketing and public relations strategy of any company.

By issuing press releases for your business you are maximising the possibility of getting free exposure in the media. Remember advertising can be very expensive but by getting media exposure as a result of issuing a press release is completely free.

Another key advantage of media exposure through a third party (a Journalist) is that unlike advertising there is no commercial agenda on the part of the Journalist and thus the audience (reader, listener) might take what is being said more seriously.

Remember the reader (or listener or viewer) have probably built up a relationship with the journalist over a number of years and have read their articles because they have an interest in what the individual has got to say. If the journalist is talking about your business the reader will often want to know more about you and what you do.

Exposure through one media outlet might well lead to a knock-on effect whereby another reporter might pick up on the story and contact you in relation to doing a piece for his or her newspaper, magazine etc. A good press release can go viral and end up being published in many places.

By releasing regular and relevant press releases at the right time one can establish themselves as an industry expert in their field of business. For example if you sell energy saving products the next time energy rates go up a journalist might well contact you for a comment or some advice for consumers in dealing with the price rise.

Today online media is a very important place with the majority of stories now broken online. Online news sites tend to have a very strong Google PR ranking. If one of these sites publishes a story about your business and includes a link back to your site in the story it can have a very positive impact on your search engine optimisation.

You can also use your website to publish your press releases and link the press release url to your social media accounts such as facebook, twitter and linkedin in order to increase traffic to your own website directly.

A press release will cost you nothing but time and the resulting media exposure for your business could prove very lucrative.

Useful Links

How to Structure a Press Release Effectively