It might come as a shock to people, but sending press releases to media outlets is not the most effective way to get media coverage, according to Baden Bower Head Journalist Adrian John Ignacio.
Professionals or businesses who want to get into the media assume that sending a press release to journalists is the only way to go about getting media coverage. But, this method doesn’t reflect how the media has evolved and how they find or commission stories.
Ignacio reveals reasons why media outlets aren’t interested in featuring business press releases.
The Release Is Old-Fashioned
In the days of print journalism, before the world was flooded with digital platforms competing for clicks, there were a finite number of publications. They had daily deadlines, a set number of slots to fill and no social media.
Journalists did receive many of their story sources from press releases. They arrived via a wire service or they came directly from communications teams at large organizations.
Today, journalists receive hundreds of pitches per day. They are tapped into a myriad of digital sources. Anyone who thinks journalists sit at their desks waiting for press releases from PR agencies to drop into their inbox for a story is delusional.
It Has Already Been Covered Elsewhere
Here’s something that some people don’t know about journalists: they don’t like to feature something that has done the rounds at their competitor publications.
As soon as a company labels a document “press release,” the assumption is it has been widely distributed to every news and features desk in the country.
The Press Release Is Full Marketing Copy
Marketing teams often cook up press releases to get across subtle psychological messages. It may work for some, but it would not attract the attention of a media outlet.
Journalists care about meaning, not messaging. They want actual, human language that tells them what, where, who and why. If they don’t see through your buzz words and superfluous adjectives, their copy editor further down the production line, who has to make 600 words into 400 words, will.
Any Alternatives?
Ignacio suggests that Instead of scattering a press release to every media contact online, businesses would do well to study the publications and consider how and why they feature who they feature.
Another alternative would be to reach out to PR agencies like Baden Bower that have close contact with media outlets and guarantee publication of news stories without the requirement to send out a pitch. They have established relationships with journalists who will publish articles about newsworthy clients without backing and forthing over a press release.
