We’ve just begun using a terrific social media release service in lieu of the traditional press release submitted via wire service. If you haven’t yet tried PitchEngine, you really should. News submitted through PitchEngine can be accompanied by multiple images, video, audio, resource links, and a ‘tweet pitch’ (your message in 115 characters or less). At the $29 pay-per-pitch level, it’s submitted to the major search engines and hosted forever on the site. For what you get, it’s a steal!

The strength and power of a social media release is its ‘sharability.’ So what do you do after the pitch to facilitate sharing and really get the word out about your company’s news? 

11 Tips to Get the Most From Your Next Social Media Release

1. Make sure to use the ‘tweet pitch’ feature. Don’t just rush by this item. Give it some thought. Make your tweet conversational and engaging – and be sure to tweet it out yourself right away.
2. Create three to five additional tweets with links back to the release, and schedule them to go out over the course of the next week or so.
3. If your employees are part of your Twitter team, they should also share the release in the same manner. That doesn’t mean for everyone to say the exact same thing though. Personalize the message per Twitter account.
4. Share it on Facebook – on your business page, and if appropriate, also on your personal profile. Again, keep it personal in tone, especially on your profile page. Ask your staff to comment or at least ‘like’ your shared link on your business page, but to do so themselves, not as page admins.
5. Share it on LinkedIn. If all of your staff share the same basic contacts, one person sharing it may be sufficient. If there’s a great deal of diversity, ask everyone to share it.
6. Monitor the response. Set up Google alerts and Social Mention alerts on your company name, product or service, and the names you use in your social profiles.
7. Engage: As you receive comments or alerts that your company, product, or release is being mentioned, respond. This lets your followers know you’re real and you’re listening.
8. Share the link to your release with other bloggers as appropriate. For instance, if your release is about a new restaurant in town, find local bloggers and let them know about it. Better yet, local or regional foodie bloggers!
9. Share it on forums. If you regularly participate in industry forums, share your release with your online peers. It never fails to amaze me – how many of our clicks come from forums.
10. Share it on Reddit and other social sharing sites as appropriate.
11. Bookmark your release on Delicious and other social bookmarking sites.

Your turn: What are your best tips for after the pitch?

Press releases aren’t dead, in fact, they’re used even more today. But they are getting picked up differently, and by additional audiences you may not have thought about.

The way to think about a press release has changed because the audience has enlarged – not gone away. Now you can submit a press release online and reap the benefits of great back links, online attention and sharing, and still reach journalists who are actively looking for leads and information.  

How do you know if a media release is right for your story?

• Are you, or someone at your company an expert at something?
• Do you have an engaging new angle?
• Are you releasing a new product or service?
• Are you introducing a new partnership that will benefit a certain group of people?
• Have you developed a new and better way to do something?
• Have you drastically reduced your pricing?
• Is your story a story, or an advertisement? (Nope, an ad still won’t cut it.)

If you believe your idea can withstand that type of scrutiny, don’t wait to let people know.

What’s the best way to get your information to the most people?

After years of releasing press submissions to journalists, free online release sites, and paid news distribution sites, we have come to one conclusion.

All of these avenues used together make a big difference. Yep -  ALL of them. Get that information out with a reach as far as possible.

• Your story should be pitched to an editor or journalist,
• It should be available on the many free press release sites available (done correctly),
• And it should be submitted to a paid press release submission service that knows exactly where to put it for the audience, and will show you where they have distributed it. It is also extremely important that those places are actually places where the news is picked up!

If you have any questions about press release submissions, let us walk you through the process. You may have the next greatest idea, but you may need to dig a little deeper to make sure what you want people to know is really getting through.

A detailed conversation with a knowledgeable copywriter will help. Make sure you have all the necessary information compiled, including images and resources. A well-managed media release is an expense at the beginning, but offers very cost-effective results to a sizable audience.

If you have an idea for a press release running around in your head, give us a call or send us your questions through our contact form. We’ll give you solid, industry-proven information to help you decide if you should move forward with your idea.

Photo Credit: Ron Zimmerman on Picasa

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Hope for the Small Business Press Release

Press Release: Write Often

A University of Wisconsin study found that daily newspapers discarded 72% of press releases. If your release is guilty of these common flaws, it might be time to learn how to write your wrongs.

6 Things Not To Write

The number one reason for press release fatalities was “limited interest to readers,” followed closely by “no reader interest at all.” According to the study, no real news in the release, poorly written material, and inaccuracies or duplication are no-no’s that keep your information from getting into the right hands, or in front of the right eyes.

On the other hand, there are some things you can do to get your story picked up.

Develop Relationships With Media Contacts

As Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound, and Mickie Kennedy of EReleases will tell you, regularly submitted newsworthy content has a much higher chance of being picked up. Why? Relationship. Media contacts are people, too, and they become familiar with the names of the writers and the companies who submit quality press releases often.

How do you position yourself to more easily communicate with journalists? We believe a press kit is a simple way. Here are a few necessary components:

• Develop a press kit page in your Web site navigation with thorough, updated contact information including your name, phone number, and email address. Keep the navigation title simple, like Press Room, Press Kit, or Media Kit so that it’s easily found by journalists.
• Include a fact sheet about your company and a small bio picture of your company contact.
• As you accrue stories, list your topics.
• List links to other press releases you’ve submitted online, or post the actual release.
• Keep links to photos readily available for shared use. Name them by topic and it will be easy to attach them to the info when needed. Make sure there is sufficient detail in your pictures for download, and sufficient size, usually a minimum of 1MB – and possibly much larger, to be used if requested for print publications.
• Include supporting information, like annual reports, newsclips, and ads.

This resource will serve you well because readily available information makes everything your media contact needs easier and faster to produce when the time comes to submit a release.

You can see samples of some of our releases on our Media Kit page.

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Ever Wonder If Your Press Release Is Getting Picked Up?

You’re not alone. While writing a press release is only half the battle, getting it picked up and read continues to haunt industry professionals everywhere. This doesn’t have to be the case, say the authors of Press Releases Designed For Effect. Not only will recognizing new dynamics re-energize your small business marketing campaign, but here at Zero To Sixty Marketing, we believe working smarter includes producing better results in less time.

Pamil Vision’s 13-page white paper on press releases is an enlightened perspective on both traditional use and newer methods of distribution. Small business owners, this is good news. You’re no longer limited to writing releases that are only read by news media journalists and columnists, now your information needs to capture the attention of professional bloggers and online readers. While some journalists still prefer a traditionally structured media release, many are finding online resources valuable for finding their information as well.

Recognizing the shift in today’s communication and public relations campaigns makes a big difference to the size and geographic location of your audience. The authors of this informative white paper clearly explain the differences between the way we’ve written press releases before, and how to do it better now when considering an online audience. If you’re mindful to steer clear of industry noise, you can tackle actual newsworthy issues much more effectively with an understanding of where your target will find that information.

For example: Take into account both SEO and your social media strategy for promotion. Should you decide to take your release to the online world, recommended, you will have to use your keyword phrase in your title, and limit the length of your title to 60-100 characters. Social media exploits like Twitter and Digg only allow a certain character length in their submissions, so leaving room for the reader to comment and send on is integral. Furthermore, using keywords in your attention-grabbing title causes your release to be seen where new media is trained to search in those arenas using keywords. This method gets the information out to more people faster than traditional press releases.

The rules have changed, and small businesses need to know it. The information here is fully resourced and credible. I found the do’s and don’ts listed here for comparison a helpful and easily understood ‘cheat sheet’ for the independent and small business press release writer.

Getting your story in front of the right people still requires newsworthy content adhering to Associated Press style guidelines. It should be well-written with correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation. A small business press release should avoid hyperbole and emphatic expression, while still appealing to the interest of your reader. Transparency necessary before is even more integral now with a savvy reader and viral marketplace. You won’t get away with incorrect facts or poorly drawn conclusions. Consumers want the truth, not keyword-stuffed hype that reads more like an advertisement. Pamil Vision’s white paper takes the press release writer through the thought processes and steps that, if followed, causes his newsworthy item to be broadcast to the specific readership necessary for success, whether using traditional or online distribution methods.

I give this paper 5 stars, and strongly recommend it as a ‘cheat sheet’ in your marketing arsenal. You can pick up your copy here:

Pamil Vision’s White Paper: Press Releases Designed For Effect