The path to a successful press release is paved with good intentions and pitfalls that you can avoid.
In a previous post, we mentioned the time-sensitive nature of press releases and covered the announcement types and timelines that followed.
With multiple decision makers, an unexpectedly shorter runway, and unseen moving parts, getting a press release out to everyone’s satisfaction can be a daunting task.
The more you’re prepared, the less painful the process will be, so here we go.
Boiler plates, bios, images, and links
While you’re getting your news ready, have the boilerplate for your company ready, as well as a short bio in 3-5 sentences of the company’s representative for the press release - usually the founder or CEO, and some hi-res images that the publications can choose. Links to any SNS such as Twitter handles or LinkedIn profiles will help too. Though this sounds basic to put together, we have seen how releases almost miss their mark because companies didn’t have this ready.
Know what you can, or cannot say
Match your announcement with the right facts and figures. Go through your points, and see if you can match them with the right facts, this helps give additional veracity to your claims, and context for journalists to ask further questions in the case of an interview. A claim without anything to show for can be dismissed at best, and at worst, invite questions that can detract or derail your efforts.
With business developments running on different degrees of stealth mode. We have had experiences the key announcement was distracted with “this is very exciting, but we can’t say anything more now”.
To quote, or not to quote
Some parts work better as a quote than others. From our experience, sentiments such as the company’s direction or business developments can be in the form of quotes attributed to individuals in the press release. Otherwise, statistics and numbers are better suited to be written as part of it, in case publications decide to not publish quotes. Sometimes editors lift the numbers out from a quote but that takes effort and could result in delays - best to not leave it to chance.
Your press release, your narrative
It is important to take charge of the narrative, especially when there are other parties such as investors or partners on board. Your press release, your rules. Everyone else that comes on board plays a supporting role in your narrative. Though the other parties involved have to greenlight and sign off to avoid any faux pas, being part of your press release is a push for publicity on your dime.
Your news, your timing
A big partner could be integral in making the announcement pop, but they can’t get back to you in time or are dragging their feet. We have seen announcements lose relevance as delays pile on. Set a cut-off date, and be clear. Read the last point again.
One story, two releases
There are situations two different parties wish to make a similar announcement. It helps for both sides to communicate on matching the timings, and to ensure that each publication gets one release. It is a good practice to let each company’s PR team get in touch with the publications that they have a better relationship with. This helps prevent double sending of the same piece and doesn’t put the publication in a dilemma between choosing which piece to publish and which to leave behind.
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What other press release and announcement challenges do you face? Hit us up and let us know!