Press releases are the most commonly used public relations tool in PR campaigns. Affordable cost, reaching the target audience, ad value, contribution to the branding process and sustainability are key benefits of press releases. They also contribute to improving the recognition, reliability, image, reputation, prestige, revenues and visibility of people, organizations or institutions. In this article, we summarize the ten benefits of press release distribution.
The cost of a press release is much more affordable than all other advertising and publicity activities. However, to maintain the costs at affordable levels, some points should be considered. The press releases that PR agencies service against a monthly retainer is not profitable. The online PR services that customers can use as needed and “pay as they go” offer more benefits compared to PR agencies in terms of writing, servicing and reporting press releases.
On the other hand, trying to handle the press release process on one’s own, whether an individual, organization or institution, can complicate things and end up being more costly. Other than using press lists and news agencies when servicing the press release, the fees for programs used in reporting also lead to higher costs for ad hoc and irregular releases. Whereas, online PR agencies manage writing, distributing and reporting processes and provide turnkey service at affordable prices.
Press releases offer an effective way of reaching your target audience. The impact that a press release you prepare to reach your target audience would have is directly correlated to its newsworthiness and having an authentic style that does not feel like an advertisement. Communicating with the target audience through print and online media can have a longer-lasting effect on brand recognition. When readers see your name in a medium that publishes content aimed at your target audience, it would have a better impact in terms of your brand image and reputation.
Print and online media sustain their presence through ads and relations with advertisers. An individual, organization or institution would generally need to place an ad in order to be featured in newspapers, magazine, news sites and blogs. Press releases have advertisement effect, albeit indirectly. The main difference between a press release and other advertisement processes is the fact that a press release costs less. Advertisement or ad value, which measures how much an ad would cost in the mediums that cover the press release, is a metric included in the reports of online PR agencies.
Press release copy, created by considering Search Engine Optimization criteria, helps you to appear in online searches. The level of coverage you get with your press releases in online news sites has a significant effect on your recognition in search engines. Press releases that include the targeted keywords support your SEO efforts. When you carry out regular media communications, your name comes up more often in searches and search engines perceive you as a source. Writing SEO-compliant press releases may increase your website traffic and ensure search results to your advantage.
News stories covered by prestigious publications build trust among your target audience. With more news stories featured in the press, your brand recognition and reputation improve and your image is affected positively. Press releases enable you to be perceived as an expert in your industry.
As the news stories featured in newspapers, magazines, news sites, blogs and social media have a positive impact on your reliability, image and reputation, they also help you to be recognized in your industry and business circles and create a positive perception within the organization as well. Branding, a process that nearly every individual, institution or organization aspires to achieve, gains momentum with your media communications.
Press releases also serve to inform the public as the most important rule of journalism. Press releases enriched with research results and quotes by experts are used as a means of public disclosure.
Businesses carry out all communication, marketing and sales activities to achieve maximum benefit and revenues. However, communication activities do not return to an individual, institution or organization directly in the form of more sales. The most important activity that contributes to brand image and reputation is press release distribution. In order for a press release that promotes brand recognition to achieve its goal, all processes including creation and distribution could be accurately managed.
Press releases increase the visibility of your brand in the media. Being the first brand that comes to mind, or Top of Mind – TOM is key for all businesses operating in sales. With press release activities planned for the long term, you can improve your recognition and chances of being preferred in the purchasing decision.
Sustainability is key in advertising, publicity and public relations activities. The activities carried out at regular intervals ensure that an individual, institution or organization stay in mind. Press releases offer the opportunity to sustain these activities at affordable prices. The fact that press release services procured from online PR agencies are generally based on speed and need helps to sustain such activities.
In 2015, International Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC) came together to find the answer to the question of “How to measure PR performance?”. Detailed media analysis of your published press release is presented to you in a special report format. In this way, you can get a new perspective on press communication and get accurate results. B2Press serves as a service in all PR stages. Providing end-to-end communication by presenting content preparation, distribution and reporting, Online PR Service B2Press has a service model that is called “pay as you go”. With this model, you only pay when you use the services.
Performance measurement cannot be expected to be done by only considering the number of coverages. The efficiency of the press release is determined by how many people it has reached and the change in perception among the audience. Perception can’t be changed within a day but can be created or changed with a sustainable plan. If you do not know what you expect from PR, you cannot measure it. Strengthening your image and building trust in people’s minds is not just a structure that can be measured in numbers.
In the past, the success of communication efforts was measured only through sales figures. Nowadays, we are living in a big data age where the number of clicks on digital channels can be seen from the most searched pages. In this sense, measuring the impact of the press release and presenting it to you through the reporting service reveals the value of communication. Thus, the figures in the report now make sense, allowing you to analyze the efficiency of the press release.
As long as the press releases are of interest to the public, they have news value and thus have the chance to take part in many channels. Advertising equivalent is the financial equivalent in all written and online media channels where the news is published. In this sense, we should be aware that the success of the press release should not be limited to the advertising equivalent. The success of a press release should be analyzed not as a single point of view, but as a whole. You can examine the success of your press release from many points thanks to the strong reporting service offered by B2Press.
The scale of your company or the industry in which you operate should not keep you from creating and sending press releases. To meet the experienced team at online PR agency B2Press and find out how we can help you, please click here.
Source: b2press.
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