New-school ways to grab attention with your press releases

There’s been a lot of recent attention paid to press releases and the links within them, which are the subject of new guidance from search giant Google. Fact is, most PR pros will see little if any impact on the results their news releases garner.

The content and structure of press releases have a far greater influence on the visibility of the message, and as competition for attention increases, the formula for a successful press release is changing.

Here are some ways to freshen the news releases your organization publishes, and get more results for your campaigns:

Make social interaction a priority.

• Serve your audience first. Frame the brand message in the context the audience craves.

• Content must do more than inform. It has to be interesting and useful to your audience members if they’re going to share and amplify your message.

Rethink links. Use them strategically to provide more information for journalists and potential customers.

• Link the names of people quoted in the press release to their bios or related blog posts they’ve authored.

• Embed a call to action for potential customers toward the top of the press release. Real-world example: PR Newswire client Jive Software reported a 200 percent increase in website traffic to a specific page when they moved a call to action for readers toward the top of the press release, embedding it right after the lead paragraph.

• Encourage on-the-spot social sharing. Highlight the key message or best piece of advice in your press release, and then embed a Click-to-Tweet link within.

Format the press release to maximize sharing.

• Write a tweetable headline of 100 characters or fewer. (Use a deck head to add detail.)

• Employ bullet points to highlight key points and draw readers’ eyes deeper into the copy.

Develop a visual communications habit.

• Including visuals can increase visibility. (Social networks and search engines both give visual content preference.)

• Visuals extend the reach of your messages into channels like Pinterest, which requires a visual element and other visual-centric social networks.

Incorporate storytelling into press releases to make the messages more memorable and interesting.

• Include a quote from someone other than an executive. Quote a happy customer, a customer service person noting how a new product has reduced support calls, or a member of the team that designed the product.

• Break the formula for the press release, and dive into the value propositions, case studies, and benefits that your audience really wants to know about.

More press release tips and case studies are available in a new e-book from PR Newswire, titled New School Press Release Tactics. It’s available for free download here.

 

How to avoid beginning sentences with 'and' or 'but'

There's a writing trend that drives me crazy.


AND I'm not going to tell you what it is.

BUT I'm betting you can guess.

AND I won't have to go on much longer with this maddening affectation reminiscent of a kindergarten show-and-tell presentation.

AND I'm running out of ways to perpetuate this motif anyway.

BUT I won't let that stop me.

As I've previously written, there's a huge distinction between adopting a conversational tone and engaging in sloppy writing. The idea of "writing like you talk" was originally intended to wean corporate communicators (and others) off stilted, pedantic prose and jargon-laden gobbledygook.

Alas, we have ended up with a pandemic of people writing like a 5-year-old talks:

We went to a dairy farm. Aaaaaaand we saw cows. Aaaaaaand they milked one of the cows. Aaaaaaaand we saw an old-fashioned butter churn. Aaaaaaaand…

The occasional sentence-starting conjunction is fine. I don't believe in absolutes; I do believe in moderation, and in "breaking rules" for a reason. But it must be done judiciously, for optimum effect.

If a writer dips into the conjunction well too often, it simply becomes a tic.

With that in mind, let's look at five alternatives to beginning sentences—and, heaven forbid, paragraphs—with "and" or "but":

Compound sentence

Fearing the dreaded run-on sentence—especially in the online, short-attention-span sphere—writers frequently opt for a period where a comma will do nicely.

Instead of: No job is perfect. But too often, young PR professionals complain without offering solutions.
Try: No job is perfect, but young PR professionals too often complain without offering solutions.

Granted, this almost requires one to move the modifying phrase, but that's a plus: It's now closer to the verb it modifies.

Semicolon

This handy little punctuation mark works best with two concise, related thoughts.

Instead of: I have eclectic taste in food. And escargots are my favorite breakfast.
Try: I have eclectic taste in food; escargots are my favorite breakfast.

Dependent clauses and segue phrases

If you have a transitional phrase in place, there's no need for a transitional conjunction.

Instead of: And despite her professional demeanor, Nancy does have more tchotchkes in her cubicle than anyone else in the company.
Try: Despite her professional demeanor, Nancy does have more tchotchkes in her cubicle than anyone else in the company.

Taking it a step further, you could condense the phrase into a word or two.

Instead of: And despite her professional demeanor, Nancy does have more tchotchkes in her cubicle than anyone else in the company.
Try: Professionalism aside, Nancy does have more tchotchkes in her cubicle than anyone else in the company.

True, but she'll never match Craig's collection of troll dolls.

[RELATED: Ragan's new distance-learning site houses the most comprehensive video training library for corporate communicators.]

Simply eliminating the conjunction

The usual purpose of using "and" and "but" between clauses is to bolster or negate (respectively) the previous contention. If that support or contradiction is strong enough, there's no need for a conjunction.

Instead of: Cooking shows are popular at our house. And we set the DVR to catch every episode of "Chopped."
Try: Cooking shows are popular at our house. We set the DVR to catch every episode of "Chopped."

To show contrast:

Instead of: Cooking shows are popular at our house. But we make sure to watch the evening news.
Try: Cooking shows are popular at our house. We make sure to watch the evening news, though.

The final "though" helps punctuate the contrasting pair of statements.

Substitute words

Finally, words like also, however, moreover, and the like are effective but can seem a little stuffy, so use them sparingly.

Instead of: Great-aunt Vera enjoys macramé. And one time her neighbor said macramé was stupid, so she decked him.
Try: Great-aunt Vera enjoys macramé. Moreover, one time her neighbor said macramé was stupid, so she decked him.

One last thing, please: If you do use "and" or "but" to start a sentence, omit the comma immediately after the conjunction in question. That goes for "or," too.

Wrong: And, I mean it.
Right: And I mean it.

Rob Reinalda is executive editor at Ragan Communications.

Infographic: Evolution of the PR industry

What about PR has changed since you started your career? From news clips to news links and newspapers to online readers, this graphic highlights the industry's major transformations


Ask any Baby Boomer and he or she will be quick to tell you just how much the PR industry has changed in recent years.

PR pros used to strive to land segments on the evening news, and now they work to get their brands to trend on Twitter. They've swapped news clips for news links and focus groups for Facebook fans.

There's no denying times have changed, and most of that change stems from evolving technology. An infographic from Inkhouse.com highlights the many ways the industry has grown.

For example, PR pros don't just pitch reporters. They've added bloggers to their media lists, as well. And rather than put together press kits to tell a brand's story, PR pros now turn to content marketing.

[RELATED: Hear how top companies adapted to the digital PR industry changes at this August event.]

But no matter how much technology alters the way we communicate, the principles of PR will always stay the same. Relationships, credibility, preparedness and other industry tenets will never change.

Check out the full graphic to see how the industry has evolved:

(View a larger image.)

How PR and SEO can work hand in hand

For many years, the worlds of public relations and search engine optimization (SEO) have existed on different “islands,” providing mutually exclusive benefits.

Through Google’s Penguin and Panda algorithmic updates—two changes that have boosted the importance of editorial quality and referral sites, and have nixed the spammier forms of SEO—public relations and SEO have emerged as similar practices.

Today PR and SEO have nearly identical goals: to obtain earned media. Both PR and SEO need a backbone of relevant, informative, and newsworthy content.

SEO is evolving into a PR and content-oriented practice. Those islands are converging with shared tasks, vision, and goals. Whether you are a PR pro looking to augment your digital practice or an SEO expert looking for time-tested relationship-building and media relations skills, here are ways you can integrate the two practices to create a maximum boost for your business:

Domain juice

Guest posts or blogs are a key component of most enterprise’s public relations plans, as they do a lot to establish expertise. When you write a bylined guest article for an online publication, be sure to work with an SEO expert to make sure the links and anchor text included in the article work to your business’s advantage.

An example: At iAcquire (the digital marketing agency where I work), I recently joined forces with the director of business solutions, who is responsible for the strategy behind our clients’ SEO and reputation management. The original copy in my byline article included branded keywords and linked to our home page.

After a keyword analysis, my colleague was able to tell me that there was far greater value in linking to a sub-page within our site on our offerings using the keyword “X”. The more relevant the link, the better, so leverage internal relationships with an SEO team to boost your overall efficacy.

Influencer outreach

SEO and PR should partner in influencer outreach efforts to boost a brand’s online reputation.

Recent Google updates lend a stronger share of the pie to social signals, so establishing relationships with key influencers on those social networks has both SEO and PR value. Work together to define, evaluate, and reach out to social influencers. Realize that this partnership can secure future media relationships and boost social signals for your business.

Shared media lists

PR pros have media lists. SEO experts have lists of external website and blog targets. SEO professionals might take a more complex look at an external site’s page rank, unique visitors, or Alexa rank, while a PR pro’s list is more likely to have information on the outlet’s editorial angle, beat, and individual reporters. Combine your lists and work together on an outreach strategy. SEO pros can learn a lot about the basics of relationship building; PR professionals can learn about site analytics.

Press release 2.0

Press releases are ancient. Optimized press releases aren’t.

Simply put, releases that are optimized to include multimedia assets and link to social channels are very effective. Use SEO tactics to find popular keywords, inject them into your press release, and then see the search engine traffic flood your brand’s website. Work with a digital marketing team to create unique assets such as video interviews to give the content of your release that extra boost of interactivity.

Content

Whether you are in SEO or PR, the underlying necessity to create high-quality content remains the same. Create a shared editorial guideline document that has some of these basic pillars:

1. Gives a unique angle to a told story;
2. Shares new information;
3. Has a backbone of a strong intro, body, and conclusion;
4. Is not thin content (i.e., doesn’t simply identify a problem without really giving any solutions);
5. Is newsworthy: creates a stir, is tied to a current event, and doesn’t cover stale news;
6. Is backed up by research;
7. Offers a solution;
8. Has a clear audience in mind;
9. Demonstrates why the topic is important and whom it affects;
10. Passes the “So what?” test.

Also, strong on-page content, that is, the actual text on the static pages of your website, such as an “about” page, is important for all departments within a business. Around 15 percent of the Google algorithm focuses on on-page content: its relevance, usefulness, social sharability, and metadata. Therefore, it should be a joint concern for SEO and PR. Webpage copy needs to be search-engine friendly, informative, and unique to rank highly and gain attention.

Combining editorial calendars

Stay consistent. Create a combined editorial calendar for internal content, social updates, and external targets. Disjointed messaging can create confusion in the way consumers view your brand.

Link reclamation

As a PR professional, you likely have a long list of media placements you’ve obtained. When was the last time you shared that list with your SEO team? You may be wondering why you would hash up placements from the past, but it actually can serve as a pretty effective form of link building for SEO pros.

Give the list of old placements to your SEO team and have them contact the outlets, especially if they didn’t link back to your site. This can diversify and grow the overall number of links you have pointing back to your organization’s domain.

[RELATED: Register for our PR Measurement Summit by Aug. 1 to get the early bird discount.]

PR stunts and events

Over-the-top media stunts, events, launches, and meet-ups can attract great coverage and more links for your business. SEO and PR pros can work together to spread the word about events through social influencer outreach, submitting events to community local listings, and generating hype prior to the event. Invite journalists, webmasters, bloggers, and brand advocates to the event, and they will cover the event.