Press releases are a popular way for websites or businesses to get immediate exposure for their product or service. They are an effective and affordable method to promote your business and get your message out to the right audience.
The thing about press releases is that there are many of them out there, but there isn’t a ton of information about why they are so important to have inside your business. In this article we will explore all the advantages of a press release and why it’s important to consider if you want your brand and website to grow to different audiences.
We will also dive into some of the most popular press release services that exist and how to go about picking one that is in line with your goals and niche.
Major Benefits of a Press Release
If all you do is crank out article after article on your website and hope to attract organic traffic you won’t get very far. You could have the best product on the market, but if no one knows about it or has seen it, it will not do very well.
This is where the power and effectiveness of a well crafted press release comes into play. Some of the major benefits of a press release include:
- Immediate exposure to an established audience
- Affordable cost
- Potential sales increase
- Major SEO benefits
- Increased web traffic to your website
- Social sharing potential
- Builds a working relationship with PR firm
- Possibility for return customers
- Helps you establish a new marketing channel
- Provides authenticity to your brand
Immediate Exposure to an Established Audience
Press releases are a great way to get immediate exposure to your website or brand from a publication or website which already has an established base of loyal readers and followers.
As a new brand or website it’s important to hit the ground quickly and gain some initial traction to your website and product.
Press releases are effective in helping you gain that initial traction to your brand so people know who you are and what you are offering at the right time.
Some initial question that might pop up in your head about your press release can include:
- What type of content should I use for my initial press release?
- How long should my press release be?
- What are the major points I should focus inside my press release?
- Who is my target audience for my press release?
These are some important components to focus on before you decide what you will feature inside your press release.
Once you have these nailed down you will have a clear picture of your audience and baseline expectations behind the performance of your press release.
The great part is that if you don’t have any sort of audience for your brand or product a press release can help you establish one. They allow you to build initial trust and authority since you will be featured either on a website or publication.
Affordable Cost
As a new business owner it’s important to keep your marketing and advertising costs in check. The great thing about press releases is that they are extremely effective while remaining very affordable. The overall cost of a press release is much more affordable than other forms of traditional paid advertising.
However, in order to help keep the costs of a press release low there are some important things that business and brand owners should know.
- The billing method or cycle of the publication
- Placement cost
- The distribution channels the press release will go out to
- Expected views and engagement for your niche
- Location of the readers
- How the performance metrics of the press release will be tracked
Knowing these components is important in order to accurately gauge what kind of ROI you can expect from the press release. These are questions you should ask the PR agency or publication that will handle your press release (check out this article if you want to do the press release distribution yourself)
Most of the time this information will be available directly on the PR websites. The costs of the press release will also vary based on the company or publication you select. So, although press releases tend to be very affordable, you should have a baseline budget in mind.
Potential Sales Increase
On top of helping your brand gain instance exposure at an affordable cost, press releases can help your business generate sales. It’s worth mentioning that this is not a guarantee but can definitely happen if your brand and product is positioned accordingly in a niche which aligns with the interests of the audience.
If you do want to increase the probability of getting sales from your press release a common method is to ensure you highlight the main benefits and features of your product or service inside the press release.
Anytime you plan to announce the release of a new promotion or new product it’s a good idea to have a press release which generates some buzz for that product. It can be a great way to get a sales increase that is typically enough to cover the costs of your press release.
Press releases can also be a very effective way to reach new buyers in different markets that you may not have considered before.
Major SEO Benefits
Press releases serve as a valuable way to boost the SEO profile of your website. Whenever you receive a press release from a media publication they usually link back to your website or product page. This creates powerful backlinks to your website which passes on positive link juice.
This will slowly increase the organic visibility of your website in search engines and help to drive organic search engine traffic. So, it’s important to optimize your content for SEO in order to see positive results from your press release.
Meta tags which point to your main topic and industry specific keywords are very important to have in place in order to make sure your website gets the most benefits out of a press release.
Another factor to carefully consider about your press releases is the relevance of the niche and the domain authority of the website that will be releasing your content. This will have a high impact on the SEO value for your website.
Reading tip: Are SEO Agencies Worth the Cost?
Increased Web Traffic To Your Website
On top of creating awesome content for your website, it’s just as equally as important to promote that content in order to get more visitors to your website or product offering. Press releases can serve as a great way to get niche relevant traffic to your website.
Before you publish a press release it’s important you know the main goals behind your press release. By leaving the name of your website or product on the press release, you can attract visitors back to your website who may have an interest in your product or service.
The amount of traffic you receive to your website from a single press release will depend on the type of publication you select to distribute the release and the type of niche you are in.
The publication you select should give you a general idea of the average traffic similar websites have received in the past as a result of the press release. In order to maximize the efforts of your press release you should have a plan for the visitors that land on your website.
These can include:
- Opt-in forms on the main landing page
- Limited time discounts
- Incentivized offers
These strategies can help to get you new customers and help you maximize the ROI of your overall press release campaign.
Social Sharing Potential
Once a press release gets distributed people will begin to interact with the content. If they find it valuable, unique and engaging they are more likely to share it with friends and others who may find it interesting.
Social sharing can bring you loads of unexpected traffic if the message of the press release aligns with the interest of the targeted audience. If people really find something unique and valuable they will not hesitate to share it with friends and family.
It’s the ultimate form of free marketing and it’s the result of a well crafted press release. It’s very imperative that you have some insight into the type of audience that the press release will go out to so you know how to structure your campaign.
Pro Tip: See our growth hacking tools to boost your social media reach.
Builds a Working Relationship With PR Firm
Even though you have to pay for a press release it establishes a working relationship with the PR firm. If the first press release goes well they may be inclined to give you volume discounts in the future.
Discounts from PR firms are a great way for you to get more value for your buck and can be negotiated once you get a good working relationship with the firm. They can even put you in touch with firms that may have a more targeted audience for your campaign.
So it’s important to establish a good working relationship with a reputable PR firm who can help your business and brand.
Possibility For Return Customers
Once a new customer interacts with your website or brand, this opens up the possibility for them to become a return customer if they had a great initial experience. This is a goal of press releases which can bring infinite value for your website and brand.
Therefore it’s important to make a great first impression to your audience with your press release. In order to increase your probability of returning customers it’s important to make sure you create customer conversations from the start which can improve the overall experience for them.
This can be managed with software such as FreshChat.
Checkout our full breakdown of Freshchat and it’s features and how it can help your interactions with your customers.
Helps You Establish a New Marketing Channel
Press releases are a great way for your business to add a new marketing channel to it’s marketing mix. In order to have a balanced marketing strategy it’s important that businesses try out different methods in order to accurately gauge what works for their business and brand.
We don’t recommend using press releases as the sole marketing strategy for your business or brand. They should be an addition to an already established marketing strategy and plan in order to help boost the growth of your business or product.
Press releases help to get you media coverage that you can’t normally get through traditional marketing methods and should be used in addition to the marketing plans you already have in place.
It’s also important that you know the kind of market you are in so you don’t jump into a press release publication that already has plenty of the same type of brands and content.
Relevant: 8 Inbound marketing strategies to grow your online presence
Provides Authenticity To Your Brand
On top of all the other advantages of a press release that we have mentioned, it shows authenticity to your brand.
The fact that the name of your business and brand is associated with a publication that is willing to give you recognition speaks volumes about the seriousness of your product and strategy.
Businesses and brands that frequently use press releases are 3 times more likely to gain a loyal customer following. Brand reputation is also increased by the use of press releases because they essentially function as trust building tools between brands and customers.
How your brand is perceived by others can make or break your business.
If customers rely on specific publications or reviews for the purchases they make, having your business featured through a press release is enough to gain an initial buyer base to your product or service.
Are Press Releases Still Effective Today
With all the different advertising platforms and methods that exist today, many people wonder if press releases are as effective as they once were.
Some websites argue that press releases are a waste of time, but we don’t think you can completely dismiss them since the market and demand for press releases is so big.
In order for press releases to be effective for your company and brand you have to first do a bit of research into the type of press releases that make sense for your brand or product.
You can’t just pick a press release because it has a large audience and hope that your campaign succeeds. It has to speak to the right audience and be written effectively.
Reading tip: What are the Rules of Writing a Good Press Release.
The fact is that press releases still work, but the way they work has massively changed in recent years. They used to be much more expensive than they are today and the amount of media outlets which publish press releases was very limited.
Today things are much different. There are thousands of media publishers who are involved in press releases at a fraction of the cost. There are also a multitude of different niches and audiences that you can target your press releases to in order to have a more effective and targeted campaign.
How to Pick the Right PR Services
In order for your business and product to have a successful launch through a PR service, you have to first define all aspects of your product and business. This will help the PR firm find the right media outlets and publications that will be best aligned with the vision of your product or services.
Some important tips to help you select the right PR firm include:
- Research the different categories of PR firms
- Know your budget
- Make Sure the PR firm understands what your business is about
- Be open to ideas
- Find out the type of publications they work with
- Ask for PR samples and data
These are some important factors to consider before you decide on the PR services that you will end up going with. Let’s break this down further.
Research the Different Categories of PR Firms
There are certain PR firms that are better suited to certain industries and niches. In order to position yourself accordingly you should find a firm that is focused in your target category or for a specific PR function.
Checkout some of the different PR functions to get a better idea of the kind of PR strategy that is a good fit for your business.
Ultimate Guide to Hiring a PR Agency in 2020
Know Your Budget
This should be an obvious tip. Knowing what you can afford will put you in touch with PR firms that work within the size of your budget and reach objectives.
Certain PR firms are meant for much bigger campaigns and objectives and it all starts with knowing what you can afford.
Make Sure The PR Firm Understands What Your Business Is About
It’s extremely important to make sure that the PR firm you chose to work with fully understands the scope of your business and the main objective of your campaign.
This should be 100% your responsibility and you should spend some time to educate the PR agent about your business and brand.
Be Open to Ideas
At the end of the day, the PR firms and agents have the experience and they might be included to give you strategies and ideas that you may have not considered.
It’s important to be open minded to their ideas because they may have more insight into the performance of similar campaigns that might help you be successful.
Find Out the Type of Publications They Work With
During the planning phase of your PR release it’s important that you get information from the firm on the list of publications that they work with.
This way you can perform your own independent research on the way those publications work and a sample of the type of press releases they have been involved in the past.
Ask for PR Samples and Data
You need to have an idea behind what kind of performance or traffic you can expect from the publication that will be handling your press release. The publication you end up going with should have some sort of past performance data they can give you so you can gain an accurate idea of what you can expect from the PR release.
This is important so you can have baseline expectations and something to work with before you spend the money.
Popular Press Release Services 2020
Below are some of the most popular and reputable press release services in 2020.
- Send2Press: Targeted press release distribution and writing service since 1983.
- eReleases: Custom US national PR Newswire service with industry-specific press release writing for distribution.
- Newswire: Regional, state and local PR distribution services with industry targeting capabilities. Rated #1 in customer satisfaction in 2019.
- PRWeb: Distribution across major outlets such as CBS, ABC and Fox.
- PRNewsWire: Specializes in advanced audience targeting for mid to small sized companies
Conclusion
As you can see there are some serious advantages of a press release which can have a positive impact on your business and brand. It’s important you fully make this decision based on the needs of your business and whether or not a press release fits into the mold of your marketing strategy.
Pro tip: read also the rules for writing a good press release.