Are Press Releases Just Hot Garbage?

Feel Like Burning Your Press Releases?

WARNING: The following guide provides Anti-PR advice. It’ll show you how NOT to do PR, which has been ruined after decades of misuse. Anti-PR is Kick-ass, Unrelenting Media Story-telling Influencer-Wrangling extraordinaire deliverables to garner favor in the court of public opinion.

What’s the point of them anyway?

I mean, they’re supposed to be great for your creating positive public opinion, right? Maybe you’ve been writing press releases on your own, or maybe you hired someone to write them for you.

In either case, these press releases talked up your good works – your industry innovations, or new problem-solving products or services – definite newsworthy stories that should have rocked the press, gotten the word out about how truly awesome you are and sent your reputation soaring.

But that didn’t happen.

It was time consuming.

It was expensive.

You barely got a bump in your web traffic.

And no real ROI to speak of.

So, like I said, what good is a press releases if it isn’t doing wonders for your publicity?

Well, if you’re stumped as to the answer to that question, then I gotta tell you now – you don’t know how press releases work.

For starters, you’re equating press releases to a publicity campaign – two very different things but related.

In a nutshell, press releases are part of the campaign, not the campaign itself.

Press releases aren’t a “magic bullet” – just one won’t suddenly burst open the damn of great publicity, third-party validations, giving you the huge ROI payoff you envisioned.

No press release can do that, and they were never meant to.

Now before I say “never”, know this: there is no absolute in this world (another scientific law)… yes, there have been the very few that have experienced that kind of pay off, but it’s literally 1 in 1,000,000 or .000001%.

AND there are very exact formulaic reasons that happened— most people have no clue, so they work in vain to get that .000001%, but alas they never arrive.

So, you’re just putting all your reputation management money and effort into one not-so-sturdy basket if you don’t know a few things.

Press releases are just one tool among a suite of content (articles, blogs, case studies, social media, etc.) that publicity campaigns utilize for achieving your ultimate ROI goals:

• More clients
• Better Marketing ROI
• Increased sales
• Industry thought leadership
• Improved reputation

One or more of these may be a goal of a customer relations campaign. None of them will happen overnight.

So where does the press release fit in?

First, let’s get away from thinking about press releases as a singular entity, but as a fact of overall image control, (remember – no single release will accomplish your goals). Press release work as part of the overall effort – a gradual, methodical buildup.

The real payoff comes when you integrate your press releases into that overall PR plan.

Press releases work in tandem with all those other opinion-influencing tools, together communicating a unified message – keeping consistent audience engagement – building toward your long-term goals – that earned ROI you’re looking for.

To sum up, Press Releases are:

• NOT a one-time only, image-boosting magic bullet
• NOT alone going to get you huge results, let alone get them overnight
• NOT an entire consumer affairs campaign

But in reality…

• ARE one facet of a robust public affairs campaign
• ARE one type of content used alongside a suite of communication tools
• ARE most effective when they’re part of a larger, unified message

Now that you know how Press Releases fit into your overall campaign, learn how the JOTO PR Disruptors team of battle-tested newsroom writers can make the greatest impact on your audiences. Contact us today!