Are press releases still beneficial for a brand when it comes to generating exposure and awareness? To many not in the know, the term sounds outdated, and in some minds, is usually replaced with the concept of blogging. While actively maintaining a blog page is important (you can read more on why here), there is no reason the two cannot co-exist. In fact, TLC would recommend businesses put both on the same pedestal! One can very easily complement the other, and the ultimate goal is always one thing: to market yourself. If used the right way, press releases can do that much better than any other tool in your belt. Let’s talk about why.

Understanding the Purpose of a Press Release

You don’t just need a press release to have a press release. The first thing to discuss is why you should even bother with preparing a steady flow of press releases in the first place. Unless you are in a marketing field already, it is very possible that you have heard the term tossed around plentifully, yet never really knew what a press release looked like on paper. If that is you, don’t feel bad! 

Press releases are a very broad term that covers many different things, but to put it in simple terms: it is a form of marketing product that generates PR (public relations, NOT press release) and is meant to bring awareness to a specific topic/story while building awareness and recognition for your band.

To simplify it even further, press releases can be written for any and every market, industry, person or company you can think of. Their objective will always remain the same, whether it be for writing about a newly released automobile model or the tour dates of a prominent musician. Promotion is the keyword here.

The writer hopes to appeal to the interest of media outlets by promoting a story, development or new addition, allowing said outlet to post the story to a broader audience which would then spread awareness of your news, your brand and your mission. 

Controlling your Company’s Narrative 

Controlling the narrative of what is happening around your company isn’t always easy or even possible, but preparing a proper press release can certainly help even the odds. One of the most common examples of this is seeing a press release written for a newsworthy story, such as a newly opened section of your business’ hotel or the acquisition of another company. 

Being able to get in front of news outlets that will inevitably obtain this information and potentially steer your audience into the wrong direction is a huge advantage when considering how quickly readers and viewers rely on first impressions alone. 

It is especially important to make use of a proper press release when your brand (or sometimes your entire market) is going through a crisis of some sorts. So long as what is prepared appears genuine and avoids looking artificial or robotic, your brand could save months or entire years worth of bad faith publicity from your audience. 

Seek the Big Media Outlets, Earn Big Rewards

The importance of generating a quality press release cannot be understated. It’s what TLC Marketing & Creative Services know best! 

Not only do you want to impress and educate your normal audience, you want to ensure that it is something a major media outlet would be willing to share with theirs as well. Mainstream publications, whether they are focused on your niche or cover a broad range of subjects, have the ability of sending a surge of traffic to your website. What starts out as curiosity turns into them staying around to find out more about what you offer, which then translates into earning a new customer. Conversion is key, but it only happens when you provide value after providing a press release keen enough to attract media attention.

This is especially important if your particular business revolves around running a blog. You’ve spent hours working on a long-read post towards a particular subject you consider important to discuss, you’ve promoted it on your social media pages and you want to reach even more people. Aside from running ad campaigns, press releases could be the goose that laid you some golden eggs. One that has been carefully optimized can be all it takes to land on the first page of a particular search term, creating organic traffic to your website that stays long past the relevancy of the press release itself. 

SEO might not be the first thing to come to mind when you send out a press release, but it is one of many big wins you can obtain if you learn to use them to their fullest potential. TLC can help! 

Writing press releases on your behalf is one of our specialities. Not only do we know how to optimize content to rank highly in the most commonly used search engines, we can proudly state that our acceptance rate with local and national media outlets is well worth your interest and business. Be sure to contact us so we can start working with you on your first release as soon as possible!