Press releases have been on the chopping block. They've always been an integral part of the public relations world, but in 2013, are they still relevant? YES! This medium has been around for so long because their impact is stellar.
But, as with most mediums, the trick is to evolve. Press releases are still an integral part of a public relations media plan, but we need to approach them differently than we did last week or last year.
One of the best ways to do this is to optimize your press release for social media. Social media allows you to easily share your content, so you'll get more eyeballs reading your big news. Sharing on social sites will help boost your SEO, and you'll get to deliver the news right where it's wanted: to the people who follow you! They're craving the news your business has, so give them what they want and share it!
Writing a press release tailored for social media is a bit different, so we'll walk you through it.
What's Different?
The content is still the same. Your news isn't going to change whether you write it for traditional or news media. The biggest difference when writing a social media press release is who you're writing it for.
For traditional media, your business is writing for the journalists, but with social media, you're writing for bloggers and consumers. These are the people who will share or ignore your release. Try to spice it up as much as possible, and present your information in a way that consumers will want to share your info! Try something out of the box!
Headlines
When writing a traditional press release, you have some wiggle room. However, when writing a press release made for the social media world, the headline should be brief and to the point. If you can fit some creative juice in here, go for it, but the most important part of this headline is making sure users can tweet it in 140 characters. Your consumers should be able to know what they're about to read and share it without editing. The shorter, the sweeter, the more viral you'll go!
Links
Link to other websites, videos, games, and even apps! The more interactive your press release can be, the better chance people will love it--and thus, share it with their social networks. Social media press releases let you connect to the entire web, so take hold of the opportunity. Link to your e-commerce website, your garden industry blog, as long as the link is relevant to what you're writing about, do it up!
Style
Again, you're writing for the people, not the media here. Since your audience is different, your release should focus on being easily comprehensible, conversational, and fun! A press release written in a professional, business writing style will seem far too typical.
Instead, try something different! Think out of the box, and write that way. Consumers want to laugh, be surprised, and feel connected to your brand. Take a RISK!
Sharability
Links for sharing should be as clear as day on a social media press release. That's the whole point! You want your readers to share this release with everyone they've ever met! Have links prominent on your release. Users shouldn't have to do extra work to share your release; all they should have to do is click a button!
What are your favorite tips and tricks when crafting a social media press release? Social media's been the hottest trend for quite some time, so your garden business has got to keep up with the times.
See what other garden trends are going to be hitting the scene this year with our 2013 Garden Trends Report. As always, our Trends Report is a page-turner (or page clicker?) that's free!
