7 Tips for Making Your Press Release a Success

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Most journalists (36%) still receive their news from the good old press release. As a PR professional, you are responsible for getting the news your client wants to disseminate in front of as many relevant people as possible.

But in 2020 when the usual news topics have been turned on their head, how do you do that?

PR Newswire – a Cision company – released its State of Press Release report which noted that 48% of all releases issued between March and May 2020 mentioned COVID-19.

The report also provided these statistics when comparing 2019 and 2020 news topics:

  • Future events news dropped 56%
  • Trade show news releases dropped by 77%
  • Public safety news increased by 192%
  • Corporate social responsibility releases increased by 118%
  • News about infectious disease control saw a huge jump of 3,140%

If your client’s release is either in a category that isn’t being discussed, or included in a topic that’s likely to get lost in the shuffle, how do you ensure yours stands out?

Here are seven tips to give you an edge.

1. Start at the top with a short, newsy headline. A short and catchy headline is where you capture audience attention. After all, when you scroll through a newspaper, social media platform, or newsletter, what is it that makes you decide which articles to read?

The average headline length for a press release is 88 characters. Keep headlines short and sweet, and if it’s absolutely necessary for a longer headline, ensure the important keywords are in the first 70 characters because this is where Google search engine results and email subject lines cut off.

2. Use strong call-to-action words. According to the PR Newswire / Cision State of the Press Release report, these are the top 10 CTA headline words:

  • Confirms
  • Reveals
  • Proves
  • Launches
  • Empowers
  • Enables
  • Allows
  • Announces
  • Rolls Out
  • Shows

3. Select the right newswire company. At our agency, we have been working with PR Newswire for many years. We have experience with all the wires, but we feel this company has an edge.

Not only do they have superior customer service, their wires syndicate to more outlets than any other. Additionally, they have a service in which editors pay to subscribe to their wires.

It gives those looking for news the chance to eliminate a mass download to their inbox, and it provides search terms. Therefore, when we set up releases to be sent on the wire, we use an option provided by PR Newswire, in which we “code” for keywords and trades. This allows the right people to find the news they are actively looking for to write into their story lines.

4. Pick the right time to send your news. According to Cision, the highest volume of news is sent at 8 AM ET, Mondays through Thursdays with Tuesday being the highest day of release traffic. 52% of copy is sent at the top or bottom of the hour.

So, to stand out from the flood of releases being pushed, yours should be sent either before or after 8 AM ET. If you’re looking to maximize your visibility, the best days are Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday in the middle of the day. Use odd times like 9:05 am, or 1:10 pm.

5. Make content informative and engaging. The average press release according to Cision’s data, is 686 words and readers spent 3 minutes and 39 seconds. But it won’t get read at all if it doesn’t interest the media. This blog post by my colleague Michelle Noteboom provides tips for tweaking your message to ensure the audience hears you – during COVID-19 and beyond.  

6. Don’t rely on the wire alone – pitch away! Hopefully, you’re working with an experienced PR agency who has a great media relations team. I pulled this entire paragraph from Cision’s report because I found it compelling:

“For the first time in Cision’s State of the Media Report history, we asked reporters to share what days they receive pitches most and what days they actually prefer getting them. As many of us expected, Mondays proved to be the preferred day for reporters, and it was also when they got pitches most. However, many journalists reported they were still open to receiving pitches until Friday (a handful even on Saturday and Sunday). As the week progresses though, the number of pitches they receive declines. While their interest in receiving pitches did slightly decrease, the numbers weren’t so significant that it should prevent publicists from reaching out.”

7. Look outside the box for other ways to promote your news. Ensure the client is posting the release on their website. Use your social media team to create multiple, engaging posts for all the client’s social platforms. And if your client is a member or sponsor of any publication or trade organization, find out if benefits include posting corporate news.

New hire announcements, contract wins, and product launches all make for news-worthy events. In the world of health and health IT, we look to publications such as HIStalk, Answers Media and DOTmed, and trade organizations including AHIP, CHIME and the ATA for posting our clients’ press releases.

2020 hasn’t been an easy year. But with a little extra work and attention to detail, you can ensure your press release is picked up and read by as many people as possible.

Branding: Be Yourself, Earn Engagement

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In public relations, there’s a lot of talk about a company’s brand and its messaging – the ideas and public image of the institution and its representatives. The value cannot be overstated.

Messaging and branding give a company its identity, making it appear “human” in the eyes of people. It gives anyone interacting with a company or organization an identity they can latch onto and work with.

A loyalty to your messaging and branding as a company is important. However, things are changing. If you’re an individual, even a CEO, the rules are not quite the same.

I want to direct you to the Twitter feed of Elon Musk, CEO and Founder of Tesla Motors, SpaceX, and other companies that revolutionizing their respective industries: http://www.twitter.com/elonmusk

Did you notice anything? Elon is in touch with the companies he runs and the branding of those companies, but he is operating outside that sphere as an autonomous person.

Be it a Karl Marx meme that he drunkenly puts out to make people laugh, or his ill-advised tweets about Covid, he is just being himself. He talks about his products and his brands when they are doing something interesting, but he also posts stupid photos, trolls his followers with snarky comments, and sometimes says inflammatory things intentionally to get a rise out of people.

Basically, he is your crazy uncle on Facebook. And that’s fine, because his engagement level is through the roof. 

He has 39 million followers and each of his posts earn thousands of replies, retweets, and likes. Elon is in touch with the times and realizes that corporate branding is great – but not for people. He comes off as a genuine individual, and that’s what makes him so popular.

I look at the Twitter feeds of other CEOs and business magnates and they tell a different story. I see nothing but links to blogs with bland statements, on-brand messaging, company news, and the occasional nod to a competitor.

It’s boring. It feels pre-planned and doesn’t contain anything worth seeking out and engaging. Sure, these business people (who I won’t point out specifically) do have followers and people who engage them, but it’s almost assuredly no one outside of their immediate sphere.

Their engagements are low, and their image is that of their company. No one sees them as a separate entity, a real person.

Yet, despite how popular social icons like Elon Musk  — and others, such as “crazy” billionaire Richard Branson – are, most others still choose to play it safe, opting not to express their personality.

Granted, there is some risk of saying the wrong thing, making someone mad, etc. But, in the case of Elon (and probably Branson as well), short of saying something overtly racist or homophobic, or short of a criminal scandal of some kind, their brands will march on because the public views them as genuine characters. Their flaws are part of their charm of being a regular person, which is something people value.

If you want to draw attention to yourself (and thus your company), you can’t be afraid to just be yourself. Don’t overthink it. Just go for it.

Remember, the President of the United States of America is a reality TV star and WWE Hall of Famer who wrestled another Fortune 500 CEO in a Hair vs Hair Match at the Battle of the Billionaires. That’s a fact. Google it.

It’s fair to say the formalities of banal corporate speak and a bland, “proper” image don’t resonate with the public like they used to. Don’t be afraid to separate yourself from your corporate brand – the followers, engagements, and media interviews will follow if you reveal yourself to be a genuine person with interesting things to say.

And if you can’t take the first steps, a good agency and marketing team will help you make it work.

Get Real: Making the Most of Virtual Events

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Many healthcare, life sciences and healthcare IT marketers may not realize it, but virtual events (such as online-only conferences) are not new. They’ve actually been around for roughly a decade – starting right about the time broadband connections became ubiquitous.

But you never heard about them? That’s not surprising, because they were pretty much treated as “less than” events. They were the sort of thing organizers would do when they didn’t have the resources to pull off a live event such as HIMSS, and organizations would participate in when they didn’t have the budget or personnel to attend live events.

Then came the COVID-19 pandemic and suddenly virtual conferences and other digital-only events started looking a whole lot more attractive, even to the big players.

That’s the world we live in for now. With many states restricting attendance at indoor events to a maximum of 50 people, it’s unlikely that we will be gathering together face-to-face anytime soon.

As someone who has walked countless concrete floors in countless poorly ventilated halls in countless cities across this great nation, I can tell you that’s not all bad news. My feet have never felt better as an adult, and my shoes have lasted far longer than they usually do.

Of course, even if the ability to hold in-person conferences and other events has been curtailed that doesn’t mean the need has gone away. And suddenly, almost overnight, virtual conferences (and other virtual events) have gone from fighting for scraps in marketing budgets to being front-and-center in many organizations’ plans.

Since it appears we’re going to be stuck in COVID-19 limbo for the foreseeable future, savvy marketers will want to learn the best ways to take advantage of these virtual events opportunities. Fortunately, I addressed this very topic in a recent post for the Forbes Agency Council blog, which you can read here:

https://bit.ly/33y3zEy

In it I cover not only ways to maximize the benefits of virtual conferences but also other types of virtual events such as webinars, various forms of content and even video conferences.

Instead of pining for the days of stale, overpriced sandwiches, never-ending, never-moving taxi lines and nondescript hotel rooms where previous guests clearly violated the “no smoking” rules, give the post a look. And afterwards, if you find you need some help in executing some of these ideas for virtual events, give me a call or shoot me a note. My Zoom is always open. 

Revisiting “The Four Ps” of Marketing During a Pandemic

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Whenever asked to come up with a marketing plan, many people refer back to the “The Four Ps of Marketing” and use them as the basic foundation to develop an integrated strategy.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of healthcare and health IT companies have had to totally rethink the four Ps—whether they know it or not. And, they’ve had to do this as fast as possible while trying to save lives—of frontline workers and infected patients—while remaining relevant and profitable.

Here’s an example. Currently all eyes are on the biopharma industry to see how quickly they can develop a vaccine that will effectively stop—and hopefully eradicate—the coronavirus.

  • The “P”roduct here is the vaccine, and there are many companies testing theirs to see which offer the best and safest results.
  • But have you also noticed a lot of the “P”romotions that these companies have been making in the national news? So far, none of them have been paying for these promotions—and that’s an important point of clarification—not all promotions are paid.
  • There are also a lot of national arguments on the “P”lacements of the vaccines. How will the vaccine be distributed and who will be first in line to receive it? How will they know it’s available and where to get it?
  • And of course, we’re also hearing a lot or rumblings about the “P”rice of the vaccine. Will it really be free (someone has to pay for it) or will there be a hefty cost when people pull up their shirt sleeves?

Because we’re in a pandemic, the whole healthcare industry has had to deal with its effects on their individual products and services. Here’s a recap of a few observations of what’s been happening.

Product

Because of COVID-19, many—if not all—health IT companies have had to take a very hard look at their products and solutions and how they can help health workers deal with and provide care to those in need.

Some of the products are back-end solutions that integrate with technologies such as EHRs—to provide faster service and track results. Certain companies may deal more directly with healthcare coordination or how data is being used and sent, while others may provide community-based services to those who are most vulnerable. And as mentioned above, many are dealing with therapeutics that help in delivering care to those affected with the virus.

Placement

Directly related to the product or solution is where and how it will be used. This will have an effect on how it will be marketed and determine the channels for those efforts.

Right now, in healthcare, certain products (think thermometers, COVID-19 tests, ventilators, etc.) are moving very quickly all around the world. But it takes sophisticated logistical operations to get equipment where it needs to be.

But this also affects how the public is informed and how the product gets used. For example, we’ve heard several instances of how someone may be feeling symptoms related to the virus but has absolutely no idea about where to go to get a test.

Promotions

This is probably the most confusing and difficult of The Four Ps to navigate during the pandemic. With so many companies wanting—and deserving—earned media placements, many news outlets are overwhelmed with requests. Having the right relationships with the media, and offering them true, compelling and factual stories is key to making sure products and solutions receive the attention they deserve.

Paid promotions are an obvious possibility, but with so much information “out there” companies will need to be very analytical, specific and targeted to reach their audiences and cut through the noise. Social media is also a good option to promote a product or solution, but knowing the right channel and frequency are keys to getting attention, followers, likes and shares.

Price

The most compelling of the Four Ps to the consumer of a product or service is the price! Remember all the fears about toilet paper and hand sanitizer shortages, and efforts to control supply and demand?

Many healthcare and health IT companies—in order to meet needs and create a common good for care delivery—provided their solutions for free. But they can’t do this forever because they’ll go broke. And, in an unstable economy, pricing dilemmas will surely consume many of these companies’ time—while trying to maintain and salvage relationships with clients and customers.

As has been demonstrated time and time again, The Four Ps of Marketing create the formula for a winning strategy and a profitable company. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies have had to revisit all the Ps to make sure their product or solution gets where it needs to be or does what it can do for health workers.

Products, places, promotions and price are now more relevant to healthcare delivery—and saving people’s lives—than they have ever been before.