First off, thank you for stopping work long enough to even read this piece. One thing about tech companies I’ve learned is that there is very little downtime in the workflow. The work you do impacts all of us in one way or another, and we get that. It’s one of many reasons why my team and I are so committed to your success.
If your company has been so busy lately that you haven’t given much thought to content marketing, you’re not alone. Tech companies, in particular, tend to neglect key areas of content marketing. One of the most glowing examples is in the area of press releases. Many companies simply don’t know how to write one or get one published.
I will tackle those items as we go, so stay with me. For now, we want to deal with when to send a press release, and the word “when” here can have different meanings. You’ll figure out what I mean if you keep reading, so let’s just get into it.
When should you send a press release? Here are a few ideas:
#1: When Your SEO Could Use a Boost
Press releases that propagate across the major online news wires benefit greatly from effective off-page SEO efforts. This presents a great opportunity for you to drive some extra traffic to your website and help your site rank higher in SERPs.
So how do you do this? Simply put, include some links. Here are a few effective strategies:
• Link to as many pages as possible – a number of links will increase the odds of someone clicking on one and visiting your site.
• Link to the page that relates directly to the information in the press release – if you are announcing a specific product or service, keep the focus on the most relevant page.
• Link to a landing page – just be sure that the information on the landing page is factual with equal parts information and sales.
Make sure to research relevant keywords that will help your press releases propagate. This also helps you gain an advantage in certain kinds of searches. Also, keep in mind that choosing keywords for press releases is different than it would be for other types of copy. The previous link explains it in greater detail.
PRESS RELEASE PRO TIP #1: Knowing the right keywords will help your press release propagate better through multiple newswires.
#2: When Sales or Website Traffic Are Slow
Press releases can go a long way toward driving new sales and driving more traffic to your site. The latter has mostly to do with what we discussed under SEO, so let’s deal with the former. Whether you are appealing to consumers or if you deal B2B, press releases can help attract the right buyers’ attention.
It might be necessary (and it usually is) to develop separate press releases for consumers and business insiders. Both groups are looking for different details and will respond to different messaging. When writing technical copy for consumers, your press release should have a heavy emphasis on “what.” What will this product or service do to make life easier? What problem or problems will it solve?
Conversely, business insiders will be more interested in the “why” angle. Why would the consumer want this product or service? Why is it a good investment? Why should we be promoting this? Professional technical press release writers understand those nuances, which is why I always recommend working with one.
PRESS RELEASE PRO TIP #2: When you deliver the right messaging to the right audience, it can have a strong impact on the level of attention it gets. Be sure to clearly state all relevant information, but never, ever ask for a sale or use sales language in a press release unless that language is framed as editorial or presented in the form of direct quotes from specific people.
#3: When You Have Anything Worth Announcing
All right… so what constitutes “worth announcing” then? Here are a few examples:
• New Product Launches
• Service Enhancements
• New or Updated Tech
• Key Personnel Changes Within the Company
• Moving of Operations from One Location to Another
• Relevant Industry News That Relates to Your Product/Service
• Promotions, Sales, Price Changes
• New Business Partnerships
In other words, if it’s happening within your company, it deserves a press release. Never look at a specific situation or event with bias. If the opportunity to send a press release exists, send one. It doesn’t have to be terribly involved: 300 words or so plus all relevant contact information is often enough. More involved subjects will necessitate longer, more detailed press releases, but general news and company happenings don’t need to be lengthy.
PRESS RELEASE PRO TIP #3: Don’t apply personal bias to your decision to send a press release. The more announcements you make about your business, the better it looks. It shows that your company is going places and that it desires for its partners and customers to remain informed.
#4: When The Right People Will See It
Here is where I’m going to delve briefly into the strategy of press release propagation. Like with almost any other kind of content, the timing of your press release matters. This article goes into it in much greater detail, but here are a few key points:
• Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are the best days of the week.
• Just before local work hours is the best time of day.
• Major holidays and weekend days are the worst times to send.
Keep in mind that this assumes both online propagation and traditional media publication. Tuesdays are the most productive days in most organizations, which means more attention is being paid to detail than average. Wednesdays are moderately light news days on average, and Thursdays are even lighter.
PRESS RELEASE PRO TIP #4: Timing definitely matters, especially if you are approaching your local paper or other print news sources. Don’t expect an editor to drop everything to read your press release if you send it at 2 p.m. when he or she is already swamped.
As with anything else in the realm of content marketing, there is much more to the science and psychology of press releases than will fit in one blog post. I encourage you to check out the links I’ve shared and to contact a reputable technology content creation service, like Beez, to help with all your copywriting needs. Both will help you launch more successful press releases.
