Future of Press Releases
The Mainstay of Public Relations Goes Digital
Jan 25, 2009 Patricia Faulhaber
The mainstay of any public relations office has long been the press release. Not only have press releases remained the number one tool for communicating company news to the media, the press release itself has remained remarkably unchanged over the years.
That is until recently. Today with all things going online, all things press release related must go digital. Plus, press releases need to be written in SEO style to be effective.
Search Engine Optimized (SEO) Press Releases
Thom Brodeur, senior vice president global strategy and development for Marketwire, said, “It has been four years since we launched SEO for the press release, and still, less than 30 percent of our clients have their releases keyword optimized. SEO continues to grow in importance and the market is adapting more each year.”
Reasons for the slow migration to SEO press releases may be because of the lack of standards for writing or the lack of experience by those working in public relations.
The industry, according to Brodeur, is working on social media and online press room standards that will include standards for SEO.
Journalists Conduct Most of Their Research Online
The up and coming millennial journalists are looking online for news and information to research their news stories. Mediapost.com posted research in November 2008 that shows:
- 87% of 18-29 year olds believe bloggers have become opinion shapers
- 87% of 18-29 year olds confirm that new media and communications enhances the relationships with audiences
- 68% use blogs to keep on issues or topics of interest
- 86% use company web sites
- 71% use Wikipedia
- 46% use blogs to conduct research.
If the reporters are looking online for news and features, public relations practioners need to make sure that number one, their company news is online and second that the release is SEOed so that others can find it.
First Step to SEO Press Releases
The integration of print and digital communications tools will go much faster and easier as more models of success are available. Many of the commercial newswires offer SEO tools or templates for SEO style press releases.
Brodeur said, “Marketwire does have an SEO add-on that our clients can select when uploading a press release. Today our service includes backwards links and meta tagging of keywords and phrases throughout the release. In the future, our SEO will provide analysis of keyword appropriateness and density.”
Test the SEO Press Release Waters
The best models are those that are working. A good way to see results first-hand is to use the search engines and type in keywords or phrases and review the results for press releases. Did the search return any press releases? If so, where did the press releases fall on the list, at the top, bottom or somewhere in between?
For those press releases coming out on top of the list, review the release for how the writer used the keywords and phrases throughout the release.
The Digital News World Awaits
Press releases will continue to rule the public relations roost – just in a different form. New changes for the better are taking place with news releases. The digital news release will bring a wealth of new prospects and web site visitors.
Digital Press Releases Reach Across the World.
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