Media in the New Millennium

posted by Doyle

We frequently talk to our clients about how issuing news releases (often called press releases, a term I think is antiquated) can help a site be found more easily in Internet searches. Fresh content with key words and phrases appropriately used can be an important part of a well-planned search engine optimization (SEO) campaign. However, the trend of writing news/press releases for the sole purpose of SEO needs to stop.

After all, the first word in the phrase “news release” is “news.”

I’m going to pick on a real-life example, below:

Two virtually identical pieces (I’m not going to even call them releases) with slight changes posted to a free service. Looks to me like someone wants to show up when someone searches for things like “Washington Park Realtor” and “Denver Hilltop Realtor.” Good goals. But spamming the free news release site with stuff like this is off-target. You want to be found, but you don’t want to be found to be pumping out junk.

Writing a bad release for pure SEO goals is kind of like warming up a sandwich on your idling car engine. It’ll work, but it’s not the best way to complete the process. While the free news release distribution sites are not where most journalists go to look for news or story ideas, they also shouldn’t become useless spam repositories.

Some thoughts on when and when not to issue a release:

• Do you have something that is actually newsworthy to say? That’s rule #1. “It’s Monday, and Acme Dry Cleaners is Open and Offering 10 Percent Off Shirt Laundry” is not news. It’s an ad. “Acme Dry Cleaners Announces Change to 100 Percent Green Cleaning Process” is news. As my reporter friends would say, if you want the former in the paper, call the ad department. Even though we can now talk directly to consumers through news and release sites, a release should offer some news.
• If you’ve never written a news release and have no idea about news writing or AP Style, get some help from someone that does. There’s a format and language that’s appropriate and expected, even it the goal of the release is mostly SEO. A headline that screams that buying a home is like winning the lottery is out-of-place and pure hype. It may or may not be a good ad or brochure, but it’s a terrible news headline.
• If you’ve got an audience that’s interested in news about you/your company that might not have broad appeal (10 percent off is a good example) consider starting a blog. That’s an appropriate place for that level of “news.”

Reporters have griped—and in many cases, justifiably so!—about poorly written, buzz-word ridden, non-newsworthy releases for decades. A new crop of folks being encouraged to issue news releases for the sole purpose of driving site traffic is misguided, plain and simple. Use the right tool for the job.

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