Have you ever thought of using press releases to promote your business to your customers and prospects?
Using press releases is a form of PR or public relations.
The Chartered Institute of Public Relations says: “Public relations is about reputation – the result of what you do, what you say and what others say about you.”
It adds: “Public Relations is the discipline which looks after reputation, with the aim of earning understanding and support and influencing opinion and behaviour.
“It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organisation and its publics.”
So, why should YOU send a press release?
Here’s 17 reasons to do so:
- Media coverage from a press release can drive valuable traffic to your website
- It can position your company and its products and services in the minds of your customers and potential new customers more easily than traditional advertising (or online advertising)
- It is much cheaper than advertising
- It helps to build your brand
- You can say things in a press release that you can’t say in an advertisement
- Appearing in a local newspaper, business magazine or trade publication (or even on radio or television) gives your business massive credibility amongst your customers and potential new customers
- It can help to position you, a member of staff, or your company as ‘the expert’ in your field and give you a competitive advantage. Likewise, it can showcase your products as the ‘best in the market’
- It can help generate sales enquiries and new customers
- It can help your business get more coverage online
- You can use the content of a press release for 1 or more posts on social media
- Brainstorming ideas for news stories can highlight successes internally within a business (and even make staff feel better)
- A press release can help to create goodwill between your company and your customers, potential new customers, employees, shareholders, and even suppliers
- It can help to protect your corporate reputation in case of negative media coverage
- It can help to influence buying behaviour of your customers and potential new customers
- It can help your company to earn understanding and support from customers, potential new customers, employees, suppliers and even shareholders
- It can help tell the world what your business is good at, how your products and services can help your customers and why customers and potential customers should buy from you rather than your competitors (but you have to careful how you do this!)
- The content of a press release in a news stories in a newspaper, magazine or online is viewed as far more credible (i.e. true) than anything you can say in an advertisement