How to write an effective press release for social media

In my opinion, social networks have a huge, as yet untapped potential, as a medium for competent, effective PR. To date, most PR people either ignore social networks altogether, or try to use traditional PR techniques and approaches, running into a complete lack of interest and skepticism.

I am sure that the science of PR in social networks has a future and to whom, if not for us, to formulate its laws. "About how many wonderful discoveries are to us ...".

I am publishing my translation of the article “How to Write a Social Media Press Release” by Muhammad Salim .
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There is no more difficult task than to interest the social network audience with a press release and the point here is not at all that it is unpleasant for them to hear about the events of your company; simply the traditional style of writing a press release is unacceptable for social media. Here are some classic approaches to writing a press release:

1. [name company / brand] announces the release of [product / service]

Such a press release is boring and can be perceived as spam, since the goal is too obvious - the promotion of a new product.

2. [Company / Brand Name] Announces [Company Financial News]

Typically, such press releases contain an announcement that the company is merging with another, has received additional funding, etc., while a press release of this type does not contain any useful information for the end user (unless, of course, in a press release contains information that Google acquired YouTube).

3. [company / brand name] plans [event]

Press releases of this type contain information that the company plans to do this and that, for example, the medical company plans to manufacture a cure for the disease *** ”. Most social network users will find such information uninteresting and unnecessary for themselves.

4. [company / brand name] completed (a) [project]

The sole purpose of such a press release is to boast the company with its achievements. The user has the right to notice: “Of course, it’s great that you have a 100,000th subscriber, but I have something before that ???”.

Why standard press releases are doomed to failure in social networks

There are 3 main reasons why standard press releases have zero chance of success on social networks:

1. They are incorrectly focused, the focus of such press releases is the company itself.
2. They are written in official language, which in itself causes distrust.
3. They are impersonal and designed for too wide an audience.
4. Of course, there is nothing wrong with the desire to promote your company in every way - in the end, we all have to earn a living. However, keep in mind that the audience of social networks is extremely negative about attempts to sell something explicitly, as well as to sleek marketing texts.

How to make a press release work

It is best to present a press release as a story, interesting, first of all, to readers. In addition, this form of submission significantly increases the likelihood that journalists will be interested in a press release.

A press release designed for success in social media should not only announce the launch of any new services or achieve results, it should contain (this is the most important thing) information about what technologies were (or will be) achieved success, why these technologies have worked, and how the results can be useful for the audience.

Rules for writing an "alternative press release"

I must say that the rules for writing an effective press release are very similar to the rules for blogging: the correct structure of the headline, the intriguing beginning, the use of graphics, and of the content, which uses all the basic laws of blogging. However, below I publish the golden rules for writing a press release optimized specifically for social media:

1. The title is optimized for all three types of readers (permanent, coming from the search and from social networks).
2. The basic meaning of the material should be clear even after a cursory reading.
3. Text formatting should be attractive.
4. No water - only the essence.
5. Try to summarize the technology to achieve success so that others can learn something useful for themselves.
6. A press release, which focuses not on the company's open advertising, but on the interests of the reader, will give a much greater response in social media than a standard written press release that no one will read. If you care more about the interests of the reader, then readers will also be interested in what you are doing.

Translation: Damir Khalilov