Press Release 2.0?
March 23, 2007 | by Jennifer Gniadecki | Filed Under The Everything Basket
I have a question specific to press releases, so I’m adding it here…hope that’s okay.
I was talking to a really nice representative from Buisness Wire and she used the term "Press Release 2.0" in a sentence! (Seriously, I’m not making this up. I have her contact info, she’s out of Chicago, and I’d never talked to her before in my life.) I called the company because a few of my clients use them and I was thinking about using them as well.
Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard the term "Web 2.0" about eight hundred more times than I probably wanted to. Everyone uses it, I’m not even sure if everyone who uses it knows what it is or how to get on that gravy train to take advantage of the shift.
A Press Release 2.0 release (say THAT five times fast!) is one where you are friendly and personable throughout. I mean, everyone knows you wrote that release, let some of YOU shine through! It makes a story more interesting…it makes the people who read the press release think either "Wow, I’d never want to work with that person." or "Wow, I’d like to get to know that person better!" This is great, because not everyone is going to like you and it’s better for you and your company if they find out if you’re "their kind of person" SOONER rather than later! This saves you from having to talk to more people than you might need to, because your press release does it FOR you.
If you have a hook, if it’s funny and interesting, it will get passed around - this increases your exposure.
In my opinion and experience, it’s far better to have a fun, personable press release that’s interesting and that the masses will want to read - because the masses include your potential clients and you could very well go from Google News to the email inbox of someone who owns a company.
A reporter from your local paper will already know what kind of interview they’ll have with you, and they’ll be more likely to call you than if it’s so professional and they don’t know if you’re boring as a board or if you’ll give good story.
It’s like pre-selling both the media and potential clients. You’ll be talking to someone that already has a good feeling about you.
What is everyone else’s opinion on this? I don’t mind disagreement or dissent, in fact, I welcome it, because I cannot figure out why people keep doing these dry, boring press releases and everyone follows up with how wonderful they are. I want someone to show me the error of my ways and tell me WHY those news-y info-packed yawn-fest press releases are the most effective way to write, and find success with, press releases.
Thanks in advance for your opinions…I appreciate having you guys to bounce the ideas off of!!!
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2 Responses to “Press Release 2.0?”
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You need to know your goal in sending the release and your target audience. One of my part-time gigs is doing public relations for a local government agency. When I do releases for them, my goal (usually) is to get the information into a *very* local paper. The small paper does not have enough staff to actually interview me, they use the press release pretty much as is.
Even when I am shooting for the Washington Post, I tend to play it “straight” because some journalists are pretty traditional.
On the other hand, when I send a pitch e-mail to a specific journalist, it tends to be much more 2.0-ish (fun, personal, interesting). I usually know them, know their writing style and can send something completely customized.
[...] Jen over at Atypical VA , posted about Press Release 2.0. The new press release is friendly, fun and written so that your personality shows through. Yes, you should always have a hook, and of course, your releases should be attention-getting. However, depending on your goals, you should sometimes go the more traditional route. It all depends on the paper and your goals for publishing the release. [...]