Reasons Press Releases Fail to Generate Coverage

Let me clear the air. I rail against press releases a lot, but I'm not anti-press release. The bottom line is that lots of them are poorly written, many don't contain any actual news, and the reason for issuing them is often unclear or misguided. That's not to mention the companies that issue multiple press releases every week. Very few companies have that much actual news. Writing ✍️ I've shared plenty of press release and pitch writing tips in my feed. In short, lead with the news, fill in the details, and don't waste words. News 📰 Reserve press releases (official company communications) for actual newsworthy news. New and innovative product releases, high-profile executive hires, landmark partnership deals... those are news. The grand opening of your company's new break room... isn't. Rationale 🤔 If the singular goal is to generate media coverage, a press release isn't going to do it by itself. It can help fill in the details, but the path to media coverage is a targeted, well-researched media list and a killer pitch. And don't get me started on issuing a release over the wire. Public companies may issue release over the wire to keep their ticker symbol's news feed updated. There may be competitive or political reasons to memorialize an announcement. There also may be SEO value in doing so. But if media coverage is really the only goal you're wasting your money. Wire distributions suck at generating actual earned media. Cadence ⏳ If your company routinely issues multiple press releases every week, you need to rethink your definition of news. Virtually no company generates that much news, and issuing press releases is not the whiz-bang PR strategy someone at the top thinks it is. You're just making noise for the sake of making noise. Full disclosure: we have four clients with press releases currently in development. So no, Strategic Global Media is not anti-press release; we just ensure there's a solid strategy in place to accompany them.

I’ve been thinking about press releases lately and why they often feel so uninspiring. You know what I’m talking about: “Company X is proud to announce…” followed by a quote from the CEO written by marketing and approved by legal. Shouldn’t they work more like a movie trailer? I’m not saying they never have a place. But if you’re trying to get real earned media (attention from journalists) you might want to rethink the formula. I went back to the interviews I’ve done with freelancers, PR pros and journalists. And then I got curious about how press releases evolved. The first press release showed up in 1906. A publicist for the railroad wrote a statement after a train crash to make sure the public got accurate information. The New York Times published it verbatim! In an era when reporters were absolute gatekeepers, the were essential and useful. The world is different today: -Journalists are awash in generic pitches. -Corporate language is a buzzkill -And companies can create and distribute their own media through any number of channels -  podcasts, blogs, LinkedIn, YouTube etc. What those platforms provide in terms of access they lack in 3rd party validation which confers credibility. The people I spoke to said journalists don’t want an “announcement.” They want your story. Ryan Flinn said something that stuck with me: “People don’t want to be sold. They want someone to root for.” (Like in the movies!) News has a shelf life. Insights have value. On my podcasts, I talk to life science marketers, executives, and scientists. Those conversations are packed with human stories, surprising ideas, and plenty of insight. They don’t sound like press releases. They sound like real people talking about the work they believe in. And I’m starting to think: why aren’t these in the pitches? Why aren’t these the voices we send to journalists? Rather than waiting for agencies to pitch their clients to me, maybe I should be pitching my podcast guests directly to publishers. Do you really need another announcement? Or do you have a story someone might care about if only they could hear it and possibly feel it? Sometimes, the answer isn’t a wire service. It’s a podcast clip that shows the CEO is human. Or a transcript quote that connects your science to a bigger challenge. There’s a huge opportunity here, especially for companies that don’t have big PR budgets, but do have something to say. If that’s you, I’d love to talk. And if you’ve been a guest on my show, don’t be surprised if I start sending your clips to the journalists who actually care. _________________________________________________________ 👋 Hi, I’m Chris 🎙️ Founder and Host of Life Science Marketing Radio 👉🏻 Your deepest insights are your best branding. 💌Learn more at https://lnkd.in/eDj2XGSy #lifescience #storytelling #marketing

If you sent out a press release this week and it didn't receive much love, these 6 factors could be contributing to its lackluster performance 👇 1. You sent it to a list of contacts the size of a CVS receipt without doing any research on what beats those people cover 2. The press release was written like an article, not a news release 3. The press release contained too much fluff and not enough factual information 4. You sent it attached to a generic pitch with no personalization 5. What you believe warranted a press release wasn't actually newsworthy 6. Your ended your email with, "Can you write an article about our company?" Sometimes, you don't need to start from scratch. Sometimes, you just need a single tweak to make what you are doing perfectly shine through.