The humble press release has been the most potent tool in the armoury of public relations professionals for decades. It has been the primary way PR professionals have communicated with the media.
When the digital revolution happened, the PR professionals transferred the same press release on their websites. Then they backslapped each other. The net had made their lives easier. They did not have to find ways to deliver the press release to the journalists. The journalists could find it on the net.
But this is where they made a mistake. The net reinvented itself. Web 2.0 with its social media platforms became the rage. The humble press release remained where it was. Its value as a digital tool diminished.
The PR professionals must realise this, and reinvent the press release. They must understand that their stakeholders can be found on the net. They need not go through the traditional media alone. They need to reach out to their audience through digital PR.
To do this, the press release needs to be repurposed, and the five formats in which this can be done are:
Format 1
Convert the press release into a blog post: The press release should be converted into a conversational blog post. It should be stripped of jargon, rewritten in the second person, and published on the company blog. This will help the PR professionals to communicate better with their audience. They will also create new content pool for the search engines to index. The chances of the company being discovered on the net will go up. (Read also: 12 mistakes that most newbie bloggers make and you should not
Format 2
Convert the press release into You Tube video: A two or three minute video is a great way to communicate. The PR professional can recast the press release as an informative video with music and strong visuals. Two good examples are Google and Twitter. They create informative videos whenever they have a new message to communicate.
Format 3
Convert your press release into Facebook content: Today, almost every major company has a Facebook Page. The question is: Do companies create content that is meant for consumption on Facebook? Nine times out of ten this does not happen. However, those who do, reap rich dividends. A good example is LinkedIn. It republishes content created by its staffers on Facebook. In the process, it has created one more conversation hub for itself.
Format 4
Convert your press release into Infographic: This is a great way to present content. The reader is not bogged down by numbers as it happens in the case of a press hand out. Instead, the reader enjoys the nuggets of information that are presented in an informative manner. The infographic can be published on Pinterest, with keywords leading back to the company website.
Format 5
Convert your press release into interactive graphic: There is no better way to interact with stakeholders than to create an interactive graphic where the stakeholder adds to the information. A great example is the Google map on the Uttarakhand tragedy. The relatives of victims and missing persons pinned valuable information on the map regarding relief camps, condition of roads etc. They would have been very thankful to Google for providing them this resource.
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