Have you ever wondered the real benefits of PR distribution? A well-written and newsworthy press release is a goldmine to a business in several ways.
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However, for you to reap its benefits, you need to ensure that it is distributed via relevant sites and locations. If you use a press release distribution service, your news can reach various media sites, social media sites, and other locations.
On the other hand, pitching directly to reporters can get you more benefits if you do it right. However, not all releases are picked up by reporters and in fact, a lot of them are found in the reporter’s email bin because they are worthless and poorly-written.
If you haven’t tried press release distribution, or you’re thinking if you have fully maximized the benefits it offers, this post is for you. We’re going to look at the reasons why you need to include it in your marketing strategies.
Check out the benefits of distributing releases below:
You get better visibility.
If your story gets written by a reporter or syndicated via a newswire, it appears like real news. If a popular news site like “New York Times” mention you or write about you, you’ll have wider visibility.
Not only you’ll be visible to their wide readers, but you’ll boost your credibility and authority. When more eyes see and read your news, they will be aware of your business, products, and services.
It will bring more advantage for your brand. You’ll attract more leads, customers, and investors. You’ll have more inquiries on your products, more traffic, and of course you’ll have higher profit margins.
You get the media’s attention.
When you use a press release distribution service, reporters who write topics in your industry will receive your story if they are subscribed to the RSS feeds. They automatically receive notification of your news, giving them the chance to see your story.
It brings you closer to interested reporters and influencers who may find your news relevant to their readers. If it is valuable to their readers, they will pick and write it. This means, your information will spread far and wide.
When using a distribution platform, it is syndicated to their network of reporters, media publications and sites. It can appear on Google News and other search engines.
An optimized release can promote brand awareness, bring you more traffic, and more.
You can become a thought leader.
Several small businesses shy away from distributing releases because they think that it is only for big companies. They think it will cost them a lot of money but will not give them a good return-on-investment (ROI).
What they don’t really know is that small companies and startups can benefit from the distribution of releases. You can become an industry leader even you are just a small business.
As long as you are an expert in your field and you can produce newsworthy, interesting and relevant content, you can position your brand on top of the market. How?
Use a press release distribution site to syndicate and distribute your content frequently each month. Do it on a regular basis. However, don’t just issue a release for the sake of distribution.
Make sure it is genuine and interesting. The key here is to be consistent. You need to be more visible in the eyes of your target audience.
Write topics that highlight your expertise, such as white papers, case studies, research, and piggy-backing on a trending issue or a celebrity. These are newsworthy topics that can position you as a thought leader in your niche.
You can also write about positive stories like receiving awards, recognition, company milestones, and partnership that boosts your leadership. These stories drive more attention to your brand.
It can attract potential investors. Keep in mind that they collaborate only with expert brands. They wouldn’t waste their investment if they know that a company can’t be trusted.
Being a leader in the industry brings a lot of benefits. You’ll achieve brand awareness, gain the trust of the customers, potential buyers and investors, increase traffic and sales.
You get instant exposure.
This is another benefit for startups and small businesses. This is exactly what they need to grow their business.
When you write a release and distribute it, it brings your brand immediate exposure. Take for instance when you use a wire service. It syndicates your content to various sites and social media.
It reaches people and places you wouldn’t reach without distribution. Your news gets exposed to people on social media. The world of social media is so massive that a lot of people can read your news.
We all know that it is easy for content to go viral on social media channels. With the use of multimedia and hashtags, your story can get shared by tens of thousands of people.
Your story can appear on Google News for a time. It means people using keywords that you used in your content can find yours. Not only that, when your image is optimized, it appears on Google Image which boosts your exposure even more.
If it is picked up by a reporter, it can be seen in newspapers, trade journals, magazines, heard on the radio or seen on TV. One press release can bring you immediate and massive exposure. This is why you shouldn’t underestimate what a release can do for you.
You gain more traffic.
One of the reasons why some marketers issue a release is to drive traffic to their website. A single release can help you achieve it if you are going to come up with an interesting, newsworthy and relevant content that will drive readers in.
Include relevant links in your release. There shouldn’t be more than three links to avoid Google penalty.
Use these links to drive traffic to your site. When writing a release, don’t give too much information. Let your readers want for more.
By providing links, you encourage them to learn more information about your business and products. Other links should be used in your call-to-action (CTA).
One link should land on a landing page on your site where they can perform a particular course of action. For example, you can ask them to “click, “download,” or “subscribe” by clicking a link.
When they reach your site, they can learn more information about your company, products or services. If you earned their trust, they are more likely to move to the buying decision.
You reach your target audience.
When you issue a release, you have a greater chance of reaching your target audience. The majority of wire sites offer distribution of news per geographic location (local, regional, national), and industry. You can also opt for more customization to reach per culture, gender, language, age, and more.
With customization, it increases the probability that you reach the audience who care about your story. Those are the people who are more probable to act on your CTAs. When you reach your target audience, there’s more probability that they will test, recommend, and buy your products or try your services.
You’ll have higher sales.
You will gain higher sales as a result of distributing newsworthy releases. Consistent distribution can make you more visible in the eyes of your potential customers.
When you reach your target audience, you’ll get in touch with people who care and need your products or services. Highlighting the benefits of your offer will put you on top of the minds of buyers.
This is why it’s important to write content that focuses on what your offer can do for the audience. Avoid focusing on your brand alone. A release isn’t an advertisement.
Use it to inform people how they can benefit from your offer. Distribute content that focuses on new products, new features, new methods, collaboration, awards, and milestones. You’ll gain higher sales as a result of more traffic, gaining trust and credibility, and brand awareness when issuing releases.
You gain SEO benefits.
There’s still SEO value in distributing releases. Not directly, but indirectly. When your news gets picked up by major news sites because it’s newsworthy and relevant, you earn quality backlinks.
Earning backlinks naturally boost your ranking on the search engine result pages (SERPs). Focus on writing genuine, attention-grabbing, and unique content to get media pickups. Aside from that, focus on relevant keywords, links, and multimedia to unlock your SEO benefits.
You’ll attract investors.
When you issue releases that highlight your company’s positive stories and developments, you’ll drive more investors into your business. When they see you appearing on different publications and reporters covering your stories, they are more likely to pay attention to your news.
You can show that you are an expert through these releases. Make sure to deliver quality stories and distribute them more frequently.
They are interested to collaborate with brands that are prominent in the market. By focusing on your developments, they’ll consider you as an achiever which will attract them to work with you.
You’ll manage your reputation.
It’s so easy for companies to receive negative reviews and feedback and online. In just a matter of seconds, your reputation can tarnish and can get damaged permanently.
By having a reputation management plan in place, you can mitigate the crisis and avoid damaging your brand’s reputation. Issue a release to set the fact straight. You’ll able to express your thoughts and let your audience know that you’re handling the matters seriously.
Now that you know the benefits of distributing releases, you’ll be more encouraged to include it in your marketing and PR strategies. You can maximize these benefits if you are going to use relevant wire sites and pitch to journalists who are more likely to write your story at the same time.
Watch out on how you craft your releases. Make it as interesting and newsworthy as possible to experience more benefits.
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