If you have not yet used Social Media Releases (SMR), here are five tips that will buy you some valuable added exposure until you make the leap to SMR…
1. Include FlickR image(s) with your news release – preferably one from your own FlickR account. If you don’t have a company FlickR account, what are you waiting for? The PR benefits are enormous, particularly for driving web traffic. Be sure to include stock photos in your account as well. And don’t forget to include the FlickR stream in your press room and on your company web site.
2. Use hyperlinks for key words and phrases throughout your news release – If your story does get ink, you want to make sure it’s also getting juice (of the Google, Yahoo and Bing variety). Obviously the links should also serve as relevant extension of your story.
3. For official statements, include an audio file with the release – What better way to illustrate such an important event? It also happens to be the quickest and most efficient way for your message to get published via all electronic media including radio, television and web.
4. Make sure that all multi-media content you submit is “embeddable” – For example, a video that is “embedded” into a news story looks like this. Publishing videos to YouTube, Vimeo or Blip.Tv makes it easier to share your content, which in turn will increase your level of exposure on the Web – much more so than sending an .MPG file attachment of your video over email.
5. Include the date of your event in the subject line of your email – So what does that have to do with news release prep for the Web? Well, in order for the above four items to be effective, your email must first be opened. Journalists and bloggers receive boatloads of emails every day from PR professionals. And they don’t necessarily get opened in chronological order. Some don’t get opened at all. One of the best ways for you to “red flag” your release is to include a date in the Subject Line. This also allows the receiver to organize and prioritize potential stories of interest.
One of the other hats I wear is that of a journalist over at MyEugene. The above list was compiled based on my experiences working on the receiving end of local PR pitches and materials for the past year.
Do you have any tips for preparing press releases for the Web? Let’s hear them!
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