Press Release Potential

If Public Relations tactics were a buffet, press releases would be the bread and butter - in other words a staple of the meal.

Press releases are one of the tactics used most often in the PR industry and that is not likely to change anytime soon. Although the ways to submit press releases are numerous with the addition of websites, email, social media and online news rooms, a well-written press release can still make or break your ability to get published in nonowned media.

Some of the important pieces of the content that should go in your news release are as follows:

1.) Address the "5 W's" and the "H."

Press releases should tell the most valuable information of what your news is talking about. If a reader doesn't know "who, what, when, where, why and how" there will be gaps in your story, which leads to an uninterested target audience.      

2.) Keep it brief.

Journalists and editors don't want flowery language. Keep your writing concise and professional while telling the most important information first. If a journalist wants to expand on your story for a feature article, he or she will call you or express interest through another channel of communication.

3.) Insert relevant quotes.

Quotes that are relevant to the press release your pitching can increase interest and add more information from a credible source within your organization. Try to keep the length of the quote correlated with the length of your news release. You don't want your news release to be a line or two long and then follow up with two paragraphs of quotations.

4.) Finally, be sure to end with a boilerplate.

A boilerplate is the last paragraph that basically sums up what your company/organization does in your industry or community. It can also explain a little bit of your organizational history, serving area and company values/mission statement. By reading a boilerplate an editor should have a good idea about what your organization does and why.

Press releases become easier with experience. If you're new to PR or press release writing, be sure to find a coworker or boss to edit your press release once you are finished writing to catch any mistakes before sending it to media contacts. After a press release or two you will be writing like a pro in no time.

How To Handle Social Media Mistakes

Mistakes can be made in the office all the time, but hopefully there is an editor, manager or process in place to catch mistakes before they are sent out for all the world to see. Social media, however, doesn't have this "catch-all." Once you post, it is posted. Of course you can edit the wording or delete something all together if backlash has started over a post that is deemed inappropriate to the public, but that does not mean the post is gone. In today's social media  atmosphere it is naive to think that viewers and readers do not screenshot posts, save visuals and share mistakes before they are taken off of a social media site.

So all businesses know they need social media accounts in today's market, but if a mistake does happen on your business' social media account how can you handle this crisis safely, professionally without putting the mistake in the spotlight?

The blog, PR in Your Pajamas has graced us with a wonderful post titled "How to Save Face After a Media Meltdown" detailing how to patch-up a social media mistake.

The first point they make is not to make excuses like "we've been hacked." This is an unprofessional  response to a rude or inappropriate post on your business' page. It's 2015, industries with social channels no longer should be fumbling its way through social. This doesn't mean everyone is an expert, but we should all know what privacy settings are and how to keep a username and password protected. Also, social media users know what a hacker's work usually looks like. If you've truly been hacked simply explain what happened, apologize for any inconvenience and share your plan to not get hacked again. However, if you have not been hacked and you say you have, you will lose your credibility on social media forever.

One tip this blog shared if a mistake does happen on your social media page is to own up to it. People have seen your mistake, and some may be angry about it. However, if you make a sincere apology and take responsibility for your mistakes people are a lot more inclined to forgive you.

A tip I have for all of you social media writers is to create a content calendar for each of your social media channels. Creating content calendars allows you to plan out your month's posts in advance. This avoids the rush of forgetting to post on Facebook for the day and as you rush out of the office create something hasty that sends a tidal wave of backlash onto your page.

Social media content calendars are easy to find on Google. Simply search "social media calendar," go to Google Images and you will find a whole list of templates.

If you sit down for an hour or two at the beginning of each month to plan your posts I think you will be surprised how much good content you come up with and how much time the calendar saves you over the course of the month.

I hope these tips help keep your social media platforms running smoothly. Happy posting!

Is Instagram That Big of a Deal?

Last week I broke down and finally got an Instagram account. I had been putting it off since freshman year of college, and I guess I wanted to see what all the fuss was about surrounding this picturesque platform.

So, at 4 am while I couldn't sleep, I signed up for Instagram and published my first Instagram picture featuring my boyfriend, Kyle, and me.

#Instaglam #fierce #adorable

Now that I have had the platform for a little over a week, I can't help but get the feeling, "this is it?" It's nice that people can post pictures in all sorts of filters, but can't you post these pictures on Facebook and Twitter to the same end?

Also, maybe it is because I only follow about 70 people right now, but the frequency of posts are minimal compared to Facebook and Twitter. Due to the lack of posts I feel a little bored scrolling through the same pictures.

So tell me your thoughts. Do you love Instagram? Why? Or have you tried Instagram and felt the same way I do? Instagram lovers, can I have some tips to further my relationship with this social media platform?

Netflix and...Analytics?

This June I spent seven hours watching most of the first season of Marvel's Daredevil on Netflix in one night. Needless to say I was hooked. I finished the first season in roughly three days. Netflix is a global phenomenon. It controls how many people spend their waking hours. It is a driving force for procrastination and instant entertainment gratification. If you have Netflix, think about your favorite series on it - what episode hooked you into finishing the season? Do you remember? Netflix does.

In a recent news release, Netflix declared with its new analytic software the company can tell the exact episode that hooked a viewer onto a series. This is important because with Netflix's relatively new stakehold in Netflix original series it is important for the producers to tell a story in a way that will be so irresistible Netflix viewers cannot look away; this will then lead to the demand of multiple seasons.

The product development abilities from analyzing the data associated with getting people hooked on a show is a potential gold mine for Netflix. However, PRNewswire looked at this news in another light. PRNewswire probed further into Netflix's choice to send out a press release about this new data. They point out that Netflix could have easily chosen to mention it's new found software capabilities nonchalantly, but instead they crafted an elegant, newsworthy story out of this information and sent out a news release to create headlines.

Netflix also paired this news release with 12 infographics detailing the "hook" episode of a few fan favorite series, like Orange is the New Black. PRNewwire calls this an "Intelligent Mix of Tactics." Netflix saw an opportunity to create interest, relate to the public and generate marketing content out of data analysis - something not many people are that interested in. From this analysis Netflix synthesized the information into something it's target audiences might truly care about and created visuals so the target audiences could share and compare. You might look at the first episode of Daredevil and think (spoiler alert), "Nah, that's not when I was hooked. I was hooked later in the season when Mrs. Cardenas died." However, your friend may say, "No way! I was hooked from the first minute." Then you can both proceed to talk about the whole season and go back and watch Daredevil from start to finish again in high anticipation for season two.

PRNewswire concludes its point by saying businesses should look to create an "Intelligent Mix of Tactics" in as many public relations and marketing situations as possible to create public craving. Think outside the box. Create interesting visuals. Write impressive news releases. Most importantly, know what your audience craves - not what you think they crave.

 I'll leave you with this final thought from the PRNewswire article by author Ryan Hansen. See the full story and more tips on "Intelligent Mix of Tactics" here.

"When creating any sort of content, whether it’s a television program or a white paper, analyzing and understanding your target customer is key. How your customers choose (or don’t choose) to interact with your content and products provides valuable feedback that can help you better communicate with them in the future."