We've all heard about the apparent demise of the press release so many times; yet it's still the most widely used and basic tool in the communications box. And I doubt journalists have seen a massive decrease of announcements popping up in their inboxes. Quite the opposite in fact. And if the press release isn't really dead as the much lamented Dodo, what's going on then?
To find the answer or rather answers I think we'll have to look beyond a simple yes or know and talk about what 'dead' in this case means. I'd agree that the time when sending out a release lead to certain coverage is definitely past its sell-by-date. To achieve guaranteed widespread coverage today you would need at least one of three elements.
Outside of these, it's more difficult to achieve international coverage. And let's face it the vast majority of SME companies can't compete at that level. Certainly not as a regular occurrence. Other factors working against coverage results include journalists skim reading subject lines, reduced journalistic staff to investigate stories and limited space per publication. The last one holds true even for online publications. If you look into the news articles per day of online media it's still a small selection from all the stories that arrived at the news desk. Most of those news stories published will contain familiar names.
Right, so if widespread coverage is not the goal, what good is it sending out a press release? It's worth bearing in mind that only 50 per cent of start-ups survive the first five years. By-the-way the story about how eight out of ten companies fail within the first five years is a myth. There is no data that would support that claim. Still, fifty per cent is a large number and equal to a coin toss guess whether or not a company is still in business.
First, to avoid leaving investors, partners, customers and the media guessing about your business' health you should inform them about the progress that your business has made. One of the best ways is through a press release sent to relevant journalists. And adding it to your website. Most people still go there to find out about a business and if the website hasn't seen any update for some time it might raise questions. Social media can have an additional effect. As the main source of information its reach might be too limited for the average company though. Because not everybody that you want inform follows and sees everyone of your posts on Twitter or Linkedin. As mentioned above sending out a release supported by social media might not lead to any coverage but it shows the company is alive and kicking.
The second and very valuable reason for writing and distributing a press release also gives you a good ground for contacting selected journalists to either introduce your company or if the journalists is aware of it, to offer a catch up meeting or call. Of course, the journalist might still refuse for various reasons of his own but even that's okay because you are engaging with the journalist and reminded him that you still exist and are making progress.
Using a press release to get in contact with journalists will also help to put you on their radar screen and your next announcement will stand a higher chance of being noticed instead of being overlooked. Over time it'll help proving the company value and trust as a source with relevant media and in extension the company's stakeholders. Especially, if you managed to actually speak with the journalist.
Coming back to our question at the beginning whether or not the press is dead. The answer is that only value has shifted. Sending out a press release is still important but it should be used in combination with additional forms of engagement. Just don't make the rookie mistake of sending emails or making phone call purely to ask if the release has been read. Equally make sure that the release goes to the right journalist writing about your industry. An annoyed journalist is worse than being overlooked by one.
To find the answer or rather answers I think we'll have to look beyond a simple yes or know and talk about what 'dead' in this case means. I'd agree that the time when sending out a release lead to certain coverage is definitely past its sell-by-date. To achieve guaranteed widespread coverage today you would need at least one of three elements.
- A household name like Apple, SpaceX or Facebook.
- Really large numbers such as USD 1 billion (inching closer to Dr Evil's 100 billion).
- A real first, think the first woman on the Moon (scheduled for 2024), the first asteroid being mined or the first manufactory built in space.
Outside of these, it's more difficult to achieve international coverage. And let's face it the vast majority of SME companies can't compete at that level. Certainly not as a regular occurrence. Other factors working against coverage results include journalists skim reading subject lines, reduced journalistic staff to investigate stories and limited space per publication. The last one holds true even for online publications. If you look into the news articles per day of online media it's still a small selection from all the stories that arrived at the news desk. Most of those news stories published will contain familiar names.
Right, so if widespread coverage is not the goal, what good is it sending out a press release? It's worth bearing in mind that only 50 per cent of start-ups survive the first five years. By-the-way the story about how eight out of ten companies fail within the first five years is a myth. There is no data that would support that claim. Still, fifty per cent is a large number and equal to a coin toss guess whether or not a company is still in business.
First, to avoid leaving investors, partners, customers and the media guessing about your business' health you should inform them about the progress that your business has made. One of the best ways is through a press release sent to relevant journalists. And adding it to your website. Most people still go there to find out about a business and if the website hasn't seen any update for some time it might raise questions. Social media can have an additional effect. As the main source of information its reach might be too limited for the average company though. Because not everybody that you want inform follows and sees everyone of your posts on Twitter or Linkedin. As mentioned above sending out a release supported by social media might not lead to any coverage but it shows the company is alive and kicking.
The second and very valuable reason for writing and distributing a press release also gives you a good ground for contacting selected journalists to either introduce your company or if the journalists is aware of it, to offer a catch up meeting or call. Of course, the journalist might still refuse for various reasons of his own but even that's okay because you are engaging with the journalist and reminded him that you still exist and are making progress.
Using a press release to get in contact with journalists will also help to put you on their radar screen and your next announcement will stand a higher chance of being noticed instead of being overlooked. Over time it'll help proving the company value and trust as a source with relevant media and in extension the company's stakeholders. Especially, if you managed to actually speak with the journalist.
Coming back to our question at the beginning whether or not the press is dead. The answer is that only value has shifted. Sending out a press release is still important but it should be used in combination with additional forms of engagement. Just don't make the rookie mistake of sending emails or making phone call purely to ask if the release has been read. Equally make sure that the release goes to the right journalist writing about your industry. An annoyed journalist is worse than being overlooked by one.
