You know you have to keep the drumbeat going.
Luckily, you have plenty to talk about. Soon your company will be launching a new flagship product, showing it off at a major tradeshow and conducting a series of introductory webinars. What’s more, you’ve been told the case studies you’ve amassed could make for an excellent whitepaper, and your advice is solicited so often you’re thinking of starting a blog on Medium.
You are your PR team’s dream, and you know it.
Naturally you put in an order for no fewer than six press releases for the next three months. And you’re baffled when the PR team says, “Oh, um…No.”
Why “No”?
Almost all brand milestones can be leveraged for coverage or content development, but that doesn’t mean they all warrant press releases. “Why the hell not?!” you ask. “These are huge developments for our company!”
Yes, they are. But yours is not the only company out there making strides, and yours is definitely not the only company your favorite journalists will be hearing about during any single hour.
Press releases are a valuable method of communicating significant milestones in a clear, organized fashion. But, there are other ways to give your company’s news a chance to shine without forcing it to compete on an uneven playing field.
Let’s take a look at some of your options:
Great for press releases.
These milestones convey prominence, authority and growth. They cement your company’s place in your industry.
- Major client wins
- New products
- New partnerships
- Major new initiatives or causes
- Significant hires
- Awards
Great for media alerts.
These milestones aren’t significant enough to knock anyone off the front page, but their urgency still warrants some timely attention from the media.
- New/re-designed websites
- Event participation/attendance
- Webinars or seminars
- Major product promotions
- Annual reports
- eBooks or whitepapers
Great for proactive pitching or contributed content.
These milestones are best suited for informing more in-depth coverage, or positioning your company as a formidable competitor.
- New case studies
- New comparison data
- Event-related insights
- Industry insights/newsjacking
Great for social sharing and direct customer engagement.
Advanced targeting allows you to connect your audiences to the elements of your brand that mean the most to them.
- Employee highlights
- Client/customer highlights
- Brand/team/product images
- Product promotions
- Common customer questions
- Recruiting efforts
It’s 2017, of course, so that’s hardly the end of it. Your news might be better in a compelling video. Your data could live as an easy-to-grasp infographic. Your annual report could be divided into gifs and blog posts. The possibilities are actually endless, with the right creative team at your side. Just remember to keep your expectations for results in check, no matter what you’re announcing, or how.
Don’t force yourself into a single communicative box. Recognize that there are different types of news, which can all be designed and re-purposed to meet the needs of different types of audiences. It may seem complicated, but your efforts will produce results that are well-rounded, far-reaching, and key to your company’s growth.