A Press Release or PR is an official statement or announcement well-written in a newsworthy form and shared with the media to get their coverage for promotion or awareness.
There is also another type of PR called Organic PR, Organic Media, or Organic Articles. This is when the media publications cover a subject independently without any primary involvement from the subject. Some Tier-1 publications in the US include Forbes, Reuters, USA Today, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and others.
Press Release = Visible tag or banner that says the Article is a PR and that the publication has no responsibility for the content published. Tags or Banners include “Op-Ed,” “Brand Post,” “Sponsored Post,” “Partnered Content,” “Press Release,” and other titles.
Organic Article = This Article is written and published by an official staff member and approved by the Editor. There won’t be any tags that say the Article is sponsored.
Benefits of PR
There are plenty of benefits or reasons to get PR done by experts. Here are some of the most common advantages:
Better credibility: Getting media coverage is a straightforward way to generate awareness and credibility about a brand or person. The more reputed publications cover the Press Release, the better it is.
Virality: With the right type of PR, there are high chances of going viral and attracting millions of traffic or attention.
SEO: As most PR articles are published by reputed publications, an indirect SEO boost is observed via referral traffic. Depending on the type of PR one gets, the backlinks can directly increase their SEO authority and help rank higher on Google.
Google Knowledge Panel: Google takes information about a subject from the available content it indexes. Successful Press Releases help Google determine the subject’s notability and create an automated Knowledge Panel that’s available on the right side in a box structure of a search result page.
Wikipedia: The main requirement to have a permanent Wikipedia page is to have at least 10 Organic Articles. Hiring the right PR experts can make this happen.
Social Media Verification: All top social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook check the available Organic PR in order to verify an account. It is suggested to have at least 15 such articles before applying for verification.
How does a Press Release work?
As explained earlier, a press release is the media coverage for promotions and official announcements. A professional writer curates a PR article with all the required details, and the marketing team pitches it to relevant media publications.
Whenever a journalist or publication likes the pitched article, they will edit it if needed and then publish it on their website. Although it sounds so simple, the actual process is quite difficult. A journalist gets thousands of pitches every day, and only a few are accepted.
The more well-known a publication is, the more difficult it is to secure an article. However, it is always recommended to hire PR experts who have years of experience and industry connections to make this a seamless process.
Template to write a Press Release:
While there is no hard-and-fast rule, a press release should sound professional and follow the standard template below.
Logo: If for a business entity, the official logo of 200×200 pixels should be used to inform the journalists about the source behind the pitch.
Contact information: This includes a way for journalists to reach out to the pitcher or the company behind it. One can put the phone number, email, and other contact info.
Dateline: It is added at the top of a press release before the heading so that the journalists know the due date of publishing the press release. It is not the date of writing a press release.
Headline: A catchy headline is vital to get the attention of journalists. Otherwise, the press release will be ignored among thousands of others.
Introduction: The significant thing is the introduction which should be concise and mainly answer the WH questions like when, where, why, and who wants the publishing of the press release. It should be single-spaced and in standard font of 12-point Arial or Times New Roman.
Body: This section covers the headlined topic in brief. However, it should be at most 400 words and follow the AP style.
Boilerplate: It includes a short history and goals of the company. The Boilerplate has its place at the end before media contact.
Media contact: Digital Marketing writers end the press release with Media Contact. It is the contact information of the person who handles the media inquiries for the company and could be a third party.
A Press Release plays an essential role in maintaining a positive Online Reputation. It also helps with building trust, increasing sales, improving SEO, and many other features.
Garden of Ads has a global PR network with connections in top publications and a history of successful pitches. We also cover non-English PR, including Spanish, Arabic, Japanese, French, and other languages. Let our experts manage your Press Release campaigns for results never seen before.
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