First of all, thank you Aaron for asking me to contribute to Technosailor. Every Thursday I will be contributing his blog, one of the top ranked and most followed blogs in the world. And it’s kind of cool to write for an audience outside of the traditional social media marketing bubble.
Our first entry, “Down with Press Release” focuses on Social Media Releases as the possible next generation of press releases:
News releases are a very self centered activity, and rarely offers actual news, mostly because companies and PR pros don’t understand what media outlets considered news to be, and the news needs of companies’ communities. As a result, press releases usually have no real news value to the media or associated communities. News is something that’s new, and as media are dedicated to business trends or events of significance that their communities care about – just like any decent blogger — they ignore news releases.
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Geoff,
I agree with your point regarding news/press releases. However, don’t you think press releases (we might need another name) are useful today not for pitching the press but for reaching our audience directly via online outlets and e-mail? Seldom are my releases sent to the press these days. But I get quite a lot of feedback and response through the more direct means I mention above. What do you think? I’d be interested in your take.
Great Q, Lewis. If you write for your readers, they usually respond. Thus the outstanding results you are getting. Most releases fail because they are loaded with corporate spin and jargon. And reporters are resistant to them as a primary news vehicle. The SMNR tries to reduce that through bullets, but is not a fail safe mechanism.