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Marketing and Public Relations | What's the Difference?

admin — Mon, 10 May 2010 15:00:53 +0000

Often times, marketing and public relations get lumped into one category. While the two categories have been growing more and more similar with the Internet and companies being able to do their own marketing and PR, there are still a few differences to keep in mind. Also important to remember is the existing differences between advertising, PR, branding, and marketing. These four components of business are all interrelated and need to work together to ensure that a business is successful. In order to understand how to use each of these components, you must first understand how to identify them.

Marketing is more closely related with selling than public relations. While the ultimate goal of both marketing and PR is to gain customers and business, PR is more focused on the relationship aspect of the buying process that a buyer goes through. Moreover, PR helps to maintain the relationships with current users and new customers, whereas marketing is primarily focused on gaining new business. PR also helps to maintain and build relationships between the company and the public.

Some state that public relations is all about building relationships. While that is true, PR also has a dual purpose in a company: to help maintain relationships, as noted above. Once marketing has helped to instill recognition of a company in a buyer’s mind, it is PR’s job to foster these relationships and ensure they continue to grow in a positive manner. This can be done through communication, honesty, and engagement of those audiences.

Reading materials from other blogs to see what my take on this was, I came across a few things that made me wonder: ‘What is the difference between marketing and PR?’ Other bloggers were stating that the difference between the two were that marketing asks buyers to take an action, whereas PR does not. (I disagree.) Some were stating that marketing has nothing to do with relationship building. (I disagree here, too.)

So, what does differ between PR and marketing? I think perhaps it boils down to the bottom line: marketing aims to increase sales and overall company performance. While that is an outcome desired from having great PR, that is not what drives companies’ PR. We do PR because we want to have another side to our companies that customers can see, talk to, and engage with. This PR side of our companies is a more personified and honest interpretation of our company that does away with the advertisements and marketing seen in our other business objectives. While we would love for this tactic to earn us more business, we know the ultimate PR goal is to build relationships with our customers, potential customers, communities, and general public.

Marketing, on the other hand, is looking to convince customers of something, whether that be that our company is awesome or that our competitor is not; we are trying to force-feed customers and buyers the beliefs we want them to hold. This is more difficult than what PR does, which is to allow customers to make their own interpretations of our company (with a little help). We want to put our company in the best light, but there is only so much we can do without reverting back to marketing or advertising. With public relations, customers are given more to go off of, and can create a message or idea of their own in terms of what our company means to them.

Public relations, then, is seen as more credible than marketing. When a customer comes to a conclusion on their own, it is easier to believe and it makes more sense to them than the overdone methods of advertising and marketing. There is a very fine line between marketing and PR that is being ever blurred with the available online tools. The Internet has made it easy to perform tasks that were once labeled marketing and are now classified as PR, such as distributing press releases to the public.

When it comes down to it, customers will embrace the company they like more. Getting a customer to like your company more cannot easily be done with marketing, though it is possible. It is easier for them to like your company when they hear about you from someone else (PR), when they read about you in a newspaper article written by the paper’s staff (PR), when they see your press conference on the news (PR), or when they see the news at your awesome fundraiser event (PR).

What do you think the difference between PR and marketing is?

A Beginner's Guide to PR | Public Relations 101

admin — Thu, 06 May 2010 17:00:21 +0000

Public Relations may be a bit intimidating, especially having never done it in practice, but know that everyone starts somewhere. The best thing to do: exactly what you’re doing now. You’re here, perhaps by mistake, but more likely because you want to know more about PR and how it can help you, your brand, company, product, service, cause, etc. PR really is applicable in all those areas, and it simply requires that you get started. (Looking for a definition of PR? Try this: What is Public Relations? | Brief Overview and Definition)

Here are some PR basics you should know and become familiar with:

The Press Release. While people think this is all there is to PR, this is simply one of the small pieces that make up the entire PR arsenal. This is a tool meant to assist you in your PR efforts and will help you to spread your message. For some tips on writing a press release, check out: 3 Important Things to Consider When Writing a Press Release
The Press/Media Kit. This is your company’s calling card. Use this packet of information to ask the media for coverage, share your expertise with others, and to give an overall introduction to who you are. Predominantly, these are used when sending a pitch to media to give the reporter, journalist, or writer more information on the company. It is also a collection of materials a company uses to send to prospective customers and clients. This can include a number of things, but normally includes company information and history, services offered, press coverage, and team players (key executives, etc.). It can also include advertising materials such as flyers, newspaper ads, or cards. (Here are some effective ways to use your media kit.)
Social Media. This includes the blog, social networking tools, forums, and wikis. These are all things you monitor, create copy for, and need to be a part of (so long as it makes sense to use for your company, situation, and audience.) Social media is a wonderful tool to utilize for most companies, and for a majority of the companies that do use it, it is a relatively low investment of funds. It does require time, especially if you want to see results.
If you’re on the fence about implementing it into your own PR mix, and for more information on determining social media’s role for you, try reading: Public Relations & Social Media | Make Sure it Fits in Your PR Mix.
The Public Relations Plan. This is a pivotal component to your overall PR efforts. Moreover, it contains all of the pieces (with their individual pieces) above. This also takes time, and requires that you actually plan to have success in this area. This term may be a bit misleading, as it implies that plans are a one time thing that you do and walk away from. They are very much the opposite. A plan is created when you have a specific goal or objective in mind and need to create a plan in order to better define the strategies and tactics that you will use to reach that goal. From there, it requires maintenance, improvement, and perhaps termination if you find that the goal has been reached and the campaign is over.
The main point here is that the PR plan is a blueprint for your next moves, how you plan to acheive those moves, and what the results were so that you can create an ever better plan to follow. Remember, though, that all of your efforts will have been done in vain if you don’t measure and analyze your ROI! Return on investment is often the only reason companies conduct PR activities, and even if it isn’t the only reason, you still need results to show to your board, investors, and shareholders to get future backing. This is such a large part of constructively creating better plans, yet companies often opt out of doing this step. This is especially important when measuring the effectiveness of your social media use. (For tips on measuring your social media ROI:Public Relations Strategies | 5 Ways to Measure Social Media ROI (Return on Investment) For a step-by-step breakdown of the PR plan: 6 Characteristics and 7 Components of a PR Plan That Works)

The key to using all of the above together in a successful and pertinent manner is to ensure that you do your research before just jumping in. To be successful and to create a productive and effective campaign, be sure to define your needs and the needs of your buyers. Additionally, be sure you can define your tactics and strategies well so that you can effectively carry them out!

Good luck on your PR adventures!

Public Relations and Business Development | Renovation vs. Innovation

admin — Wed, 05 May 2010 17:00:24 +0000

I recently read the Marketing Gurus by Chris Murray (highly recommended), and a topic that really stuck out to me was the concept of renovating a business, product, idea, solution, etc., instead of innovating a completely new one. The latter route seems to be the more popular of the two. The book review that this concept came from is a few years old (2004), and was written by Sergio Zyman titled Renovate Before You Innovate.

Here are some reasons I gathered from the book (and from my own experience and education) that help to reiterate this point:

- Companies often times look at only innovating a new product. What they do in turn is ignore (or forget) that innovation means revamping and creating anew to benefit customers, consumers, and the business. “When it comes to identifying organic growth opportunities, an amazingly large percentage of companies are one-trick ponies, focusing only on coming up with new products, excluding anything else. What’s worse, the emphasis is often on quantity over quality.”

- Customers are the only thing that matter. No matter what you tell them, what you sell, or what you do, nothing matters but what they think. As such, it is important to take into account the following benefits that your product offers your customers: (you may remember this from your marketing or consumer behavior classes)

Emotional benefits – how your product or service made them feel.
Functional benefits – what makes your brand superior over your competitors, in their minds.
Attributes – the things that benefit the above benefits.

- Horizontal growth is less productive and beneficial to a company than vertical growth. Spreading your resources thin can make it hard to do business. “Trying to grow a business through innovation means spreading resources horizontally, developing new brands, new customers, and new directions. It’s a tremendously risky and expensive path to take.” (pg. 270)

Overall, there are many reasons to renovate something you have to make it better instead of spreading yourself, your brand, and your company so thinly. Instead, build your brand and products vertically, ever improving their quality. While the concept of “new” can generate you some buzz, longer lasting buzz will be generated when you show buyers that you are dedicated to creating a better product from what they’ve already fallen in love with. Lastly, create effective measurements so you can see where your renovations have been successful and not.

10 Steps to Creating a Successful Public Relations Plan

admin — Tue, 04 May 2010 17:00:33 +0000

Creating a public relations plan takes time, knowledge, and understanding of your company or client needs and wants. Here are some steps to ensure you capture those wants and needs in the plan creation process and that you create a plan that is relevant and useful to your company or client.

Know your company’s or client’s current situation. This is essential to knowing where the company now stands, where the company is able to go, what the company’s market/industry looks like, and what direction the company is headed. This helps to put things in perspective.
Know your resources. This can be a part of the first step, as it is a part of the situational analysis needed to understand where your company or client currently stands. This can help you better build your tactics and strategies while considering the budget, time, and other resource limitations the company or client may have.
Know your objectives and goals. Also essential to the PR plan having success, you must know where the company hopes to go. Like driving with no directions, a PR plan with no goals or objectives is an aimless action with no knowledge of what could come, or even what results are desired. Be sure that the PR plan’s objectives are in line with the rest of the company’s overall objectives, and ensure that they are clear to all involved.
Know and define your target audience(s). This means that you’ve defined your target buyer audiences and target media audiences. Each audience will need a different message and a different approach. Knowing these audiences will help you to frame your strategies and tactics so that you can effectively reach the people you hope to reach.
List messages and strategies you will use to reach the target audiences you defined. These should be in line with the goals and objectives listed earlier; if they are not, the plan is already off to a somewhat bad start. Know that your strategies and messages also need to relate to one another, otherwise there is some disconnect happening that needs to be addressed.
Define the tactics you will use to make the strategies you’ve listed a reality. These tactics will take the messages and strategies listed and make them happen. If, for example, a strategy is to enhance a company’s brand awareness, tactics could include community outreach, social media use, press conferences, etc. There first needs to be a strategy defined before tactics can be addressed and assigned to a message.
Create a time-line for implementation. This needs to be realistic but also challenging. Remember that there should be no lapses in the PR plan where press releases are being sent out, events are taking place, or media are being engaged. There needs to be constant reminder to the public that the company is alive and well, and that can be done with constant information being sent out.
Delegate obligations and responsibilities to your team or your client’s team to ensure all parts of the PR plan are completed. This helps to ensure that everyone is on board and that everyone knows their own responsibilities and duties. This is crucial to seeing the PR plan come to fruition. This step should be done with everyone involved so that no one feels over-burdened, left out, or given too much responsibility. This can also help to give everyone the feeling of responsibility since the plan was created with everyone together and not just one person’s say.
Create measurements of results/ success. To know if your plan is effective, create measurements and benchmarks for the tactics you implement. This is a place for the PR team to gauge the success of the plan and to see if goals were realistic. Creating measurements can also help to show what could have been done with the expertise and estimations of a PR firm or team.
Review the plan after implementation and conclusion of the plan. This is the time when all who helped to create and carry-out the plan can come together and share their thoughts on what went well, what didn’t go so well, and what could be done differently in the future. This needs to be done to ensure that future plans have a chance of being successful. This step can help to encourage group members to continue working for the company’s success by giving everyone a chance to talk and contribute to the next planing.

The key to remember when creating a PR plan is that all plans are going to be unique and different for each company, and even within the same company, they will be different for each plan objective/goal. Do your homework before creating a plan, and be sure that you work closely with the company or client to make the plan a success.

Public Relations Tactics | Minimizing the Impact of Negatice WOM (Word of Mouth)

Ashley — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:31:00 +0000

The PublicRelationsBlogger.com glossary defines word of mouth as: “The advertising of a product or brand that takes place between customers. This is promoted through ‘people networks’, referring to WOM as word of mouse as well. There is no outside influence or management from the company or brand.”

Normally, the last sentence in that definition is true. When it comes to astroturfing, companies are very much involved in creating that false WOM, though that is the extreme end of a company partaking in the WOM creation process. Companies can be involved in other ways that are not so bad and do not carry such a negative connotation as astrotrufing. That can include being actively aware of the WOM being generated about your company or client’s company, and responding when necessary. Doing these things can really help t alleviate the minimize the impact and repercussions of negative WOM. Negative WOM can include negative comments, false statements, and customer complaints. These things all need to be taken seriously and given the appropriate attention. Responding to these things can make or break your company’s success and online reputation and brand identity.

Companies do tend to respond to negative WOM, and according to a recent study done by by Econsultancy and bigmouthmedia, “direct engagement is the number one method of rectifying issues and addressing not-so-positive response.” (eMarketer)

Negative comments and false statements about brands can spread fast. Because consumers have the ability to create, publish and distribute their own content—as well as comment, debate, recommend and share their opinions—marketers and their brands are more vulnerable than ever. For instance, brands can be damaged by people who use Twitter to post false information. And they can just as easily be affected for the worse by employees who post prank videos on YouTube. (eMarketer)

Being a responsive PR professional takes tact and prompt action. Though the above tactics found in the study are all viable options to fight negative comments and WOM online, they may not work for your company, or there may may be one method that works better than others. Knowing which ones to use requires a great understanding of your target audiences, buyers, and your own company. Having that understanding can help you to ensure that you respond correctly and are able to respond in a manner that your customers/buyers will appreciate.

Do your homework, and be sure to allow yourself to find what works best by simply trying something; you won’t know if it works well for you unless you try it. Creating a PR or marketing plan is all about implementing tactics and strategies with educated reasoning and being able to evaluate how they are working for you and your company.

Public Relations : Brand Names, The Physical World, & The Internet

admin — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 22:57:00 +0000

I read an interesting book a few weeks ago, “The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding” & “The 11 Immutable Laws of Internet Branding”. The concept that I’d like to share is that of their 3rd Internet Branding Law, “The Law of The Common Name”.

Recently, in driving around looking for a nail salon or for a dry cleaners, this law became much more real. I don’t know the name of any of the salons or dry cleaners (unless it was a salon I’d gone to more than once, and really enjoyed). The generic name of ‘salon’ or ‘dry cleaner’ works really well in the physical world. These companies don’t need specific, brand names for a physical bricks-and-mortar company who’s location really helps to differentiate them. “I dropped off your jacket at the cleaners on Hall.” How convenient!

The story for an online business is far different. How can you differentiate one brand from another if the names online businesses use are generic? For instance, a company named “Shoes.com” dosen’t say much about them that would make me visit them over “Heels.com”, and I really only know that they sell a generic product of shoes or heels. On the other hand, I know what to find at the DSW or Zappos website, because I know the store and I know the brand.

Another reason website names are crucial to an online business is that, standing alone, away from advertising, marketing, or PR, a website is simply an address, usually comprised of a few words. This means that businesses can no longer rely on their logo, the look of their website or product, or really any other visual characteristic. The website address needs to capture the attention first, and then the logo and other aesthetic aspects come into play. (What pressure!)

So, while a generic name may work on Hall St., remember that there needs to be a way for your customers to distinguish you and your brand, and your brand name ought to instill some sort of desire and wonder, whereas Flowers.com doesn’t give off much excitement. It may tell me what is offered there, but that is the extent of the utility the name offers. (In fact, in looking for a website that sells flowers that I could contrast to Flowers.com, my search resulted in other generic flower sites. I suppose, then, that having a generic flower website or brand name won’t hurt your business much, but it would definitely benefit you to have a unique name among a sea of generics!)

Having an ‘uncommon’ name will help you to be more recognizable in the end. If a customer of ThePetShop.com is asked where they got their pet medications, and their answer, “The Pet Store”, prospective customers may be confused, and inquire, “Yes, but which pet store?”

It can be beneficial to have a name that helps to bring a new identity to your company. Petco, though a big brand offline, probably does well online, simply because their name is something other than a common name.

Media Relations Training | The Importance of Training

admin — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:03:00 +0000

Media Relations may be the most important part of Public Relations. As such, Media Relations Training is a useful tool any business professional can utilize. It may be recommended for professionals in the PR industry or department of a business, but it would be beneficial for all professionals of a business to partake in media relations training.

Ideally, it will help equip individuals with the right tools to effectively and professionally deal with the media and also give a better understanding of how the media works. The end goal is to enhance collaboration with the media in order to strengthen relationships and encourage coverage for a story or press release.

It involves gaining an understanding of a news organizations’ needs in addition to methods to meeting them, being able to communicate in a time of a news crisis, and responding to the media in a way that is effective and succinct, improving communication skills and defining and improving strategic communications. The goal is to learn how the media works, what motivates them, and how you can get coverage for your news.

There are many options for training. Regardless of where the training comes from, there are a few things that are critical to a media relations training program in order for the training to be worthwhile. They could include the following:

Tips to handle impromptu and unexpected interviews. Whether they be via telephone, email, etc., knowing how to handle unexpected interviews is vital for the survival of a media relations specialist. Reason being, this skill can be used in almost any situation.

Some ideas this topic could cover (among many others):

- Keep your company up-to-date with corporate goings-on so that any one person could answer a question directed at the firm about a news piece, product launch, or employee addition.

- Know that it is O.K. to ask to call back. Take a second to gather your thoughts, predict what might be asked of you, and breathe.

- Stay congruent in the information you release, whether it be to the company or to reporters. This way no information is questioned and your credibility is intact.

Hand feed the media. This could include many different tactics with the end goal of catering to the media so that your news and company information has a large share of the coverage being given. Some of those tactics might include:

– Creating newsworthy news. This involves making your news release more than just an announcement of the new addition of a CEO. It requires that you make the news release more about what the addition means to the community, where the party for the addition will be, and what it means to the company.

- Make an exclusive on some of your news. This could make others want your news, or simply repost your news for you if you only provide it to one form of media.

- Know who your target is. If your story needs to go to a specific journalist, figure that out. Tailor your story for that individual. If the story doesn’t feature something they are interested in, chances are they won’t suddenly enjoy or find interest in your story.

Say what you want to say, and do so your way. When you are in an interview, it is important to have some control in the interview so that the interviewer knows you’ve been through this before and there are few tricks that they could pull on you. This also ensures that you answer correctly the questions asked of you, and that the information you release is what you wanted to leak. Some important things to remember:

-Do not talk “Off The Record”. A reporter may not keep what you say off the record. Be careful, and remember that you are always “On Record”.

- Be confident.

- You are allowed to say that you do not want to talk about something, or that you are not well informed enough to talk about a topic. Often times you can request that a document be sent to your company or firm prior to the interview taking place, and in doing so you are able to prepare your answers. Though the interviewing company may decline, it is appropriate to ask what topics will be covered. There may be some things you have yet to disclose with any public.

Know how to pick an appropriate spokesperson. This person ought to be the person you send for the media training, but if it is not, the aforementioned are some things this individual should know and practice. It is critical to pick the right spokesperson; they are the company representative. A personable individual with excellent communication skills is needed for this role. It could also be the person who knows most about the questions an interviewer is asking, though at times, those people are not the most personable or approachable for an interview. In those cases, the spokesperson should talk with them beforehand.

Other things this training could cover include hands on experiences, such as interviews, talking with real people in media, and real scenarios. Each training will differ, and as such, it may be beneficial to take more than one. Do your research and find one that you think is best for you. Some require a few days, so ensure that you can commit to that as well.

It is important to know how to work with the media because they are your free advertising source, and they can also be the worst informant of your company. They are not within your organization, and as such, do not always have the right or full story.

Role of Public Relations | What is the Role of PR?

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 23:00:00 +0000

Public Relations has many roles within a business, but the most important may be that it serves as an outlet and tool for shaping an image, whether it be for a company or an individual. The most important thing to remember about public relations is that it is not advertising. Though PR may have a similar outcome or influence on the company as advertising, PR is less biased and self serving. It is information based, stating facts like a new product release, a recall has been put into effect, or that a new CEO has been brought into the company.

There are many benefits that an effective public relations plan can bring to a company, and while reading a book on public relations titled “Strategic Public Relations: 10 Principles to Harness the Power of PR”, I came across a wonderful list of things that PR can do. Though some of these are ideas learned from other books, classes, and research, this list is compiled well and encompasses a lot of the key things that should be stressed when telling the benefits of PR.

Things PR can do for your company, firm, or self include the ability to:

➣ Grow Your Brand

➣ Heighten Demand of Your Product or Service

➣ Expand Your Customer Pool
➣ Establish Trust for the Company and its Products
➣ Form a Position of Leadership for the Company
➣ Change the Way Your Product is Perceived
➣ Generate Awareness for Your Products or Services
➣ Improve Employee Moral and Draw Top Quality Talent to Your Company
➣ Enhance the Perceived Value of Your Company
➣ Make Socially Responsible a Key Characteristic of Your Company

(Strategic Public Relations, pgs. 9-14)

Thought most of the terms are self explanatory, the only one that may have a need for further explanation might be the fourth term, “Form a Position of Leadership for the Company”. I think this is an important benefit and aspect of what PR can do for a company, and maybe one that seems a little out of reach for most companies. This is simply the idea that PR can help to push your company into the front position of your industry. An example the authors used was Starbucks, who spent less than 10 million dollars in advertising in their first 10 years of business, and with a powerful PR program, they became a leader in the coffee industry.

People tend to trust public relations more than advertising. Advertising seems more scripted (pun intended), which it often is. Public relations feels more credible; much of what comes from public relations comes from an external source, outside of the company itself. It also seems to be more effective than advertising, and perhaps largely due to the aforementioned characteristic. Advertising comes from the company and is used entirely to further business.

Public relations can also help create relationships between the community and your company, including the government, schools, and other non-profit organizations. It can also help you become more aware (or maybe just more informed) of your surroundings due to constant studying of the market required to tailor things such as press releases or press campaigns for the right audience.

Though perceived as an alternative to advertising, public relations really ought to be considered more important to a firm and its success. From the benefits listed above, public relations might need a larger role in the business.

Works Cited:

Gehrt, Jennifer and Colleen Moffitt. “Strategic Public Relations: 10 Principles to Harness the Power of PR”. 2009.

Tags: role of public relations, public relations benefits, public relations role, public relations

Jobs In Public Relations | Tips for Getting a Job in PR

admin — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:18:00 +0000

It may seem somewhat daunting in this economic time to find a job of any sort. Depending on where you’re starting, being a recent graduate or a specialist from another profession, here are a few tips that might help you land a position in public relations:

[If you would d first like to learn more about public relations (and if it's the career for you) and the differences between it and advertising, click here]

Where to start?

First things first: it is in your best interest to have an education. Having a degree in public relations is not always necessary as a degree in journalism, marketing, or communications may suffice in lieu of a PR degree. The playing field has been leveled, though, with more and more individuals making their way into the job market with degrees; a bachelors degree seems to be the new high school diploma. It has become a necessity in order to find yourself with more options when looking for a career or job.

Finding a job to apply for may be the hardest part of getting a job in PR, but it could be half the battle. Some places to look may be your school’s job board (if you still have access), LinkedIn, Facebook, PRWeek Jobs (US), Monster, and America’s Job Bank.

For some ideas of best firms to work for, check out TheHolmesReport, which offers news and intelligence for PR professionals. Here is a list of their best agencies to work for.

Bulldog Reporter also offers media news and intelligence for PR professionals, and has job listings on their site, which you can search and read through here.

LinkedIn even has an Entry Level and Intern group specifically for Public Relations. If you do not already have a LinkedIn profile, create one for yourself! It may be a resource a prospective employer may use to learn a little more about you and your accomplishments. Once you have a profile, you can join the PRintern|EntryPR group that lists internships and entry-level jobs, as well as discussions, articles, and available advice from PR professionals. With over 830 members, this may be a good place to start.

Also, be sure to check out industry publications, magazines, and other websites to get some leads and possible career opportunities.

Ok, so you’ve found a job you want to apply for. Now what?
Find out who to talk to about the position. Is it HR, the PR department, or the CEO? Figure it out so you can address your cover letter and other correspondence appropriately. This will show preparation and real interest in the company/firm and the position. If you don’t seem interested, there is no reason for the firm to even consider hiring you; why would they want to? They want someone passionate about the company and what the company is doing.

If there is a job description, tailor your resume and cover letter accordingly. If the job description asks for attention to detail, excellent communication skills, and computer skills, by all means say that you have exactly these things! (So long as you have these qualities, of course.) List them as reasons why you would be a good fit for the firm, and what you could bring to the firm. Action words are key.

The person interviewing may also want some writing samples or examples of any PR work you may have done in the past. Do not supply them unless asked for; you can mention you have examples in your cover letter, but there is no need to inundate the hiring person with more to read when they may not even read your entire resume.

If you start off right, you may land yourself a position you love, or maybe one that just leads to another. Either way, being prepared makes it easier to accomplish your goals.

“Train Hard, Win Easy”

Tags: Job In Public Relations, Public Relations Jobs, Public Relations Career, public relations

Tips for Writing a Press Release

admin — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:00:00 +0000

A press release is a document written about a company, by the company, to be distributed to print and web sources, as well as other media types. Typically, these are created/ written by the publicist of the firm.

This document is used to announce the launch of a product, a landmark in the company’s current ventures, or any other news regarding the company, their employees, plans, economic information, or affiliates/ partners.

With a press release, the company is able to avoid bias from reporters or analysts, though the company’s own bias is included in the release. Press releases rarely cast a bad light on the company writing the release, and they are usually written to announce good news or solutions to problems reported on in other types of media.

The main components of a press release include:

Time of Release: Crucial for a press release: the release may be prematurely released, so establishing a time to send out the press release, as well as when other news sources are free to post the release, is essential for ensuring proper exposure, release, and advertising.
City, State, and Date of release: This is simply more information for the reader to learn of where the company is located and how recent the press release is. Often, news sources pick up on press releases days after the company initially launched it, so this is useful information.
Body: The desired text or information for the release as well as the main reason for the press release being launched.
Contact Information: Also crucial for a press release, as the press release can be a great source of free publicity, and for readers/ viewers, there needs to be a way to contact the company releasing the press release. It is wise to list the Marketing Director here or the main publicist.
Finally, the Company Information: This is additional information about the company, such as what they do, the products and services they provide, and what they are currently working on. This is all a great source of free publicity, especially when launching a new product or service, or signing on with a new employee or partner.

Tags: writing press releases, PR, public relations, press release tips