'Net Features : press releases

Ramp Up Your Press Releases

Linc Wonham — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Online news distribution service PRWeb is offering a new tool that evaluates the components of Web releases such as headlines, content, multimedia, keywords and links. Called Make it Better, the service aims to help small business owners gain online visibility and improve the impact and reach of their releases and SEO opportunities.

The interactive news releases are distributed to search engines, news sites and thousands of regional, local and national outlets, letting users include keyword links, video and images to earn more reader interest.

“The majority of journalists and bloggers search for news on the Web," says director of product management Jiyan Wei. "And the majority of consumers search for information about businesses online, rendering old, expensive wire services ineffective for most businesses. Companies large and small need to get their news where everyone is looking – the Web. And they need to create releases that work well on the Web, which means including multimedia, images, keywords and links.”

Multimedia Press Releases Get 77-percent More Views

Linc Wonham — Mon, 02 May 2011 19:00:00 GMT

Distributing press releases through services such as PR Newswire has for years been a highly effective marketing strategy for businesses on the Web. New data from PR Newswire, however, indicates a significant development regarding the effectiveness of today’s releases.

A recent update to the company’s Web analytics program enabled it to compare the copious data that details the activity press releases generate on PR Newswire.com. A closer inspection of the data confirmed that press releases with multimedia elements generate up to 77 percent more views than text-only releases.

PR Newswire’s research reveals that marketers can increase the number of views by 14 percent simply by adding a photo, and that including a video will raise that number to 20 percent. The percentage more than doubles to 48 percent more views with both a photo and a video, and adding additional elements such as audio or PowerPoint to photos, video and text will result in 77 percent more views than a text-only release.

The study determined that the increase in views is due to the fact that multimedia news releases (MNR) are more broadly distributed than text (non-MNR) press releases. Each element of a multimedia release is distributed separately and can attract its own audience on social networks and search engines. Videos, for example, are distributed to more than 70 video-specific portals.

The effect of distribution is illustrated clearly in the stark contrast between traffic sources for text press releases versus traffic sources for multimedia content. Search engines are the primary drivers of traffic to text press releases while other web sites are the primary drivers of traffic for multimedia content.

Multimedia news content is shared much more enthusiastically on social networks. The number is driven somewhat by the fact that multimedia press releases generally include a variety of sharable elements such as photos, video and slides in addition to text. The wide distribution of these elements as described previously also plays a part in driving the sharing process.

Nonetheless, the differences in the degree to which multimedia releases are shared more frequently than plain text is striking. Across the one-month sample of content on PR Newswire.com, multimedia releases were shared 3.53 times more often than text releases. Text releases were shared, on average, .99 times per hour per release while MNRs were shared, on average, 3.5 times per hour.

Multimedia content also has a longer shelf-life, holding the audiences’ interest for more than twice as long as text press releases. On average, text press releases generate visibility for 9.4 days while multimedia press releases generate visibility an average of 20 days. The higher degree of sharing also contributes to extending the message life.

WM Radio: Optimizing Press Releases, Facebook Strategies

Mike Phillips — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 20:43:00 GMT

Online press releases can bring a bounty to your business -- if you know what to do. We discuss press release tactics with Christine O'Kelly of OnlinePrNews.com. Also, some new data about Facebook publishing was released this week and we recap some important, and somewhat surprising results.

Listen now, and subcribe to Website Magazine Radio in iTunes!

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If you would like to have your questions answered on Website Magazine Radio, please send email to mike@websitemagazine.com with "WM Radio" in the subject field.

PRWeb Tweets It - Launches TweetIt

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:43:00 GMT

Online news distribution service PRWeb announced TweetIt, a new add-on service with important social media implications. The service allows customers to automatically share a news release through Twitter at the same time it is distributed through standard PRWeb syndication channels. This is the latest of social media features added by PRWeb to help its clients leverage social messaging.

To share their news through Twitter, PRWeb customers simply include their tweet when uploading their news release. PRWeb then posts the tweet, including a link to the online release, to their Twitter account when the news release is posted. The new service is available immediately with the company's social media visibility package and above. It was unclear in the announcement whether TweetIt would use a PRWeb or Vocus Twitter account or the client's Twitter account, but I think it's safe to assume that the client gets that privilege.

"As the leading online news distribution service, PRWeb has attracted some of the most technologically-savvy customers in the industry who are looking for innovative ways to communicate their news to the world," said Bill Wagner, chief marketing officer of Vocus, Inc. "Recognizing the growing popularity and importance of social media platforms, such as Digg, Twitter and YouTube, TweetIt adds to a stable of features that helps our customers integrate social media into their communications strategy with one easy step."

Media Coverage From Newswires

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:24:00 GMT

What's the best newswire service for generated media coverage? According to market research firm Diagnostics Plus in an independent study of commercial newswires, press releases distributed by PR Newswire get used by media more often than copy from competing services and generate more clips when they are picked up.

Press releases transmitted by PR Newswire were used 55% of the time, versus Marketwire's 43% pickup rate, Business Wire's rate of 38% and a rate of 37% by PrimeNewswire, according to the study. Of those releases attracting attention by the media, the volume of coverage was highest with PR Newswire, followed by Business Wire, PrimeNewswire and Marketwire. PR Newswire has nearly twice the pick up frequency as PrimeNewswire and more than twice that of Marketwire.

Effective Press Releases & Distribution Channels

Pete Prestipino — Thu, 15 May 2008 16:20:00 GMT

It is widely believed that the first press release was issued over 100 years ago by Ivy Lee on behalf of the Pennsylvania Railroad, which had just suffered a tragic accident. The press release was issued to prevent alternate versions of the accident from being spread among the press. And, 100 years later the intent of a press release hasn’t changed. It remains a valuable resource in any marketer’s tool kit. But its importance in the Internet age and the world of search engine optimization has never been greater.

Read Milind Mody's article now - Effective Press Releases and Distribution Channels.

The Best Day To Send Press Releases Is Today

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:47:00 GMT

There's no "best" day to send press releases but this has not stopped many online marketers from wondering if one day is better than another.

If you intend to use press releases as a means to improve search rankings (a respected tactic and one that I personally approve) then it should not matter when you distribute a press release. Search engines don't care if they find content on a Tuesday or a Saturday - the day makes no difference in actual value.

There are some things you should know, however, if your aim is to secure mainstream (or even alternative) media attention. My experience has been that there are dramatically fewer press releases sent on weekends and at the beginning (Mondays) and end (Fridays) of the work week. The prevailing "wisdom" used to be that you never sent a release at the start of the week - but since everyone seems to be following that rule, if you want your press release to stand out among the hoards, try sending it on days with the least activity. I'm in a unique position in that I review hundreds of releases a day. Case in point - today I scanned over 327 press releases in my PRWeb RSS folder alone. Had there been, say 127 instead, I may have paid more attention to a few of them.

The most important thing to understand if you're looking to secure genuine media attention through content distribution of a press release, is that any day of the business week can work. But it's crucial to leverage your media relationships and not rely purely on the distribution power of the news wire you are sending that content through.

Hot Tips and Tactics – The ‘Nitty Gritty’

John Fitzsimmons — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 19:21:00 GMT

Optimizing press releases, Images, local business, and Product Submissions. Here the nitty gritty details straight from SES NY......(read more)

Video News Releases

Administrator — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 15:21:00 GMT

If you've got a video news release or corporate video that you just can not possibly keep under wraps any longer, you'll be pleased to know that PRNewsChannel.com has begun beta testing PrNewsChannel Video.

Think of the solution as a free YouTube and MySpace for business that enables users to quickly and easily upload videos in a professional environment. "On PRNewsChannel Video you won't find your video juxstaposed with clips from Jackass," says founder Glenn Selig. "This is a site by professionals for professionals."

Users of the site can also create "spaces" or pages on PRNewsChannel.tv to store all their videos in one space or to use the page as a secondary page to attract new business, to network with other businesses or to establish a strong, professional video presence online. The best part? Any videos uploaded on PRNewsChannel Video may be embedded at no additional cost in electronic press releases distributed via email or online through PRNewsChannel.com.

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