How can a simple press release open doors?
How can a simple, well written press release be the oil that lubricates your entrance into the market? It’s easier than you think. Most companies that are well versed in the use of the internet, understand that press releases, linked to various social media tools, can be extremely powerful in opening the doors of prospective clients. In fact, companies are now inclined to write press releases for all kinds of business and personnel changes in order to maintain the constant flow of keyword-rich content that drives search engine optimization.
Writing a press release starts with understanding the basic format or layout that conforms to the requirements of press release submission sites. Many of the free sites, like PR HWY, prlog.org and clickpress.com, offer templates that allow you to simply fill in the boxes. Adhering to these templates will produce well formatted press releases that are ready for submission.
The content must be carefully considered. Press releases are for news, not a sales pitch. Releases that are simply a pitch to buy your product will get removed from most submission services. Your company’s presence in a new market or territory is news and this should be the focus of your content. A little bit of background on the company and its product is relevant.
Press releases become websites that will be looked at by search engines, just like any other page. In order to propel your press release into search engine stardom, you will need to insure that you include relevant keywords in the body of the release and tag those words in your submission. The finished product might look like this:
There are lots of sites that can advise you on the elements that need to appear in your press release, so I will leave you to find that elsewhere.
So why might a seller want to engage in this kind of communication? If you need to pave the way for your entrance into a new territory or market segment, press releases lend a degree of credibility that some spam email will not. Unwanted spam email is more likely to insure that the recipient will not want to buy from you or your company. A better understanding of your talents and background, along with a sense of your company’s purpose, might make your phone call asking for an appointment more of a welcome interruption.
Also, consider how busy many marketing departments are in managing the company’s various initiatives. In our lean and mean world, there is not a lot of bandwidth left. You might be able to step in with a simple release that gets the job done and makes setting up your next trip that much easier.
Now here’s where it gets fun: Linking press releases to your company’s website, and other social media outlets pulls everything together. When coordinated with your personal Twitter, and LinkedIn pages, along with the company’s Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles, you can create a storm that will launch your news into stardom.
By David Phillips
Connect to me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/davidlphillips
