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A Thorough Explanation On How To Start A Press Release | 9 Steps From Creation To Distribution

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Press releases can convey information about companies and organizations to many people, such as announcements of new products and services, holding events and campaigns, and business alliances. Thoroughly prepare for press release distribution to ensure media exposure and effective appeal to consumers.

In this article, it will divide the process from writing a press release to distributing it into 9 steps.

Introducing How To Start A Press Release In 9 Steps



In PR activities, we want to make preparations as quickly as possible and send out information in a state of freshness. When using a press release to disseminate information about your company, knowing how to do it and how to get started will allow you to proceed smoothly until distribution.


How to start a press release can be roughly divided into 9 steps. Understand each step and carry out efficient and effective PR activities.


STEP 1. Always Collect Information In Preparation For Regular Information Dissemination



As a PR person, there are many opportunities to disseminate company information, such as holding events, campaigns, seminars, renewals, business alliances, etc., not limited to the announcement of new products and services. By distributing press releases on a regular basis, you can promote your company's activities and branding. Stakeholder recognition as an active company/organization with many opportunities to disseminate information can also be expected to improve credibility.


Daily information gathering is essential to constantly disseminating company information. It is important to collect information from various angles, such as what kind of things are currently attracting social attention, and what kind of news is in the company. Keep an eye out for trends in the media, check the press releases and websites of your competitors, and more. If you want to gather information about your company, you may want to attend meetings of other departments.


It is also recommended that you conduct media research on a regular basis. If you understand the characteristics of the media, you can efficiently select the destination of the press release. Make it a habit to collect information and study media, and try to update to new information.


STEP 2. Clarify The Purpose Of Distributing Press Releases



Select the information you want to share from the information collected in STEP 1. If you have collected a lot of stories, you may want to post them all. However, if you include too much information in one press release, it will be difficult for the reader to understand what you want to convey, and readers will not be able to perceive it as useful information.

The information to be conveyed is narrowed down to one per press release, clarifying your purpose, such as “What is it for?”.

It is also important to determine the appeal target, such as "To whom the information will be delivered." By clarifying the layer you want to approach, you can see what kind of media is suitable.

In addition, when distributing press releases, cooperation with the department in charge is essential. In some cases, it may be necessary to cooperate with external companies and organizations such as business partners. Share the purpose of distributing the press release, establish a system for mutual cooperation, and try to listen carefully to the information and thoughts you want to convey.

STEP 3. Select Media To Send And Make A List



Once you have clarified what kind of information you want to convey to whom, select the media to which you will send the press release. At this time, from among the media to be considered as recipients, we will narrow down the media to be actually sent from the viewpoint of whether or not there is affinity with the content to be announced.

In addition to the general framework of genres and readership covered by the media listed as candidate destinations, considering corners, special features, trends, size of the media, etc. will help you select media with a higher degree of matching.

When selecting, it is also important to take the perspective of media personnel, asking, "What kind of information would you want to cover?". Reading and researching trends in the information handled by the media can be useful in creating press releases for STEP 4.

In order to manage the media to which the press release should be sent, create a media list with media contact information etc. Make a list of the name of the person in charge, phone number, email address, SNS account, fax number, address, etc.

It is important to keep in mind that the media list is not for one-time use, but that it will be useful for future PR activities. In addition, if you create a column for writing contact history and points to be considered, it will be easier for other PR personnel to use it. Be sure to check the media list for any changes in the addressee information each time you use it.

STEP 4. Create A Press Release



A press release is an "official document" addressed to the media from a company or organization. The content requires clarity and the necessity of disclosing information to society and the media. In general, it is said that ``If you tell people a story, they will get empathy, and it will be a more effective PR.'' Be aware of them and create a press release that shows where the news value is.


Media personnel are checking to see if the information is worth mentioning. It is important to include content that is easy for the media to pick up and report on, such as "Big difference from competitors" and "Social significance".


In addition, it is important to create a press release that allows the reader to have a concrete image of the information content. Sentences that use only vague expressions and redundant phrases do not convey information properly. Keep in mind the purpose of distributing the press release, such as “For what purpose”, “What kind of information you want to convey”, and “What kind of benefits you want to deliver” explained in STEP 2, and make the content easy to understand and resonate with the heart.


STEP 5. Prepare Clear Images



Many of the attention-grabbing press releases include “visual clarity”. In order to have media personnel pick up your company's press release from the vast amount of information on a daily basis, use images that provide information at a glance. If you can get them interested, they'll even read your press release.


It is important to prepare images while considering whether they are easy to use for media publication. In addition to whether the image conveys the purpose and story of the press release, whether it violates public order and morals, and whether it can gain the understanding of stakeholders, there are also points such as whether the size and resolution are easy to edit as content.


Also, if you prepare not only one image but multiple patterns that capture the purpose of the press release from various angles, it will be easier to understand the content, and you can also provide the media side with the advantage of being able to freely choose the image.


STEP 6. Prepare For Inquiries



As early as possible, an inquiry may be made a few minutes after the press release is distributed, and an interview request may come on the same day. At that time, we may receive questions about detailed information that is not listed in the press release. If you can't provide an accurate answer on the spot, you don't know if you'll be contacted again. In addition, press releases and the credibility of companies and organizations themselves may be damaged. Don't waste your chances of being featured in the media. It is a good idea to prepare materials and response manuals so that you can smoothly provide answers when you receive inquiries or interviews.


In addition to the contact information for the customer of the product or service, please include the direct contact information for the PR department for media personnel. It is also important to have a system in place to smoothly connect with the person in charge.


STEP 7. Do A Final Check



Once you have finished creating your press release and deciding where to send it, perform a final check before distributing it. Once the content of the press release is reported and spread, it is not possible to perform operations such as corrections on your own. It is important to be aware that this is an official document of a company or organization, and to perform a detailed final check to ensure there are no mistakes.


• Are there any typos?
• Is there anything wrong with the configuration?
• Does it contain information that should be communicated?
• Is there contact information in the text?
• Is there a mistake in the delivery address, etc.


After the final confirmation by the person in charge of public relations and PR, we proceed with internal (or external) confirmation, and request checks by superiors and relevant departments for fact checks where necessary. As a final check, make sure your media list is up-to-date.


STEP 8. Send Press Release



Press releases can be sent by email, fax, mail, or telephone. In order to get your company's information featured in a number of press releases, in addition to following the delivery method required by each media, it is also important to add an explanation so that you can understand what kind of information it is.


For example, when sending a press release by email, the subject line is just as important as the body. The point is to make it possible to get a general idea of the press release just by looking at the subject line.


Also, to avoid one-sided information dissemination, be sure to explain specifically and clearly what kind of readers the content of the press release can provide and what benefits it can provide. In order to prove that the content of the press release is related to social concerns, introducing related news from other companies can increase topicality.


STEP 9. Measure Effectiveness Using Various Indicators



After distributing the press release, analyze and evaluate the results and conduct a retrospective. It is said that it is difficult to measure the effectiveness of PR measures. Therefore, it is common to carry out multifaceted measures using various indicators.


One of the indicators and methods that are often used to measure the effectiveness of PR measures is a " clipping " that cuts out articles from newspapers and magazines and records and stores exposure information in all media. Clipping collects information by deciding items such as the name of the medium, the number of characters, the outline of the content, whether it is an independent article or not. Clipping not only makes it easier to compare and verify the degree of impact on stakeholders through the number of articles published and the tone of the articles, but also provides hints for PR strategies and accumulates knowledge of the company's PR activities.


In addition, the number of nomination searches to the company's site due to being introduced in the media, the change in the increase in the number of accesses, and the number of reactions on SNS are also indicators of effectiveness measurement.


Effect measurement can be used to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of PR measures, confirm the direction of the measures, and improve the measures. In addition, you can see what kind of impact the distributed press release has on your company, what stakeholders are interested in, and what issues they want to solve. Measure the effectiveness using multiple indicators, and use the data to develop a better PR strategy.


Conclusion



Distributing press releases is an important means of public relations PR activities, as it allows you to deliver various information about your company to many people. If you distribute press releases without understanding how to do them, the PR effect will be low. In order to ensure appropriate media publication, valuable information transmission, and information freshness, it is important to grasp the methods and procedures and execute smooth press release distribution.


Clarify the purpose of distributing the press release, think about what effects can be expected from distributing it, and what benefits it can provide to consumers, then distribute it using an appropriate method. It is important not to forget to measure the effect after distribution, and to continue an effective PR strategy.


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