Depending on the chosen goal and objectives, it is necessary to use different types of content. The PRNEWS.IO service offers an overview of formats that will help you present your product to customers, position your brand in the market, and create a positive personal image in the process.
The Press Release
A press release is a way to convey to others important events happening within a company. This material provides useful information to editors and journalists for redistribution purposes.
What are the features of a press release?
The determining factor in the effectiveness of a press release is informational communication. Informational communications always explain the event in greater detail so that the reader or listener has a clear view of what has transpired or will transpire in the future. If there is no event, then there needs to be a legit event created in order to share the news.
The press release must be important to the audience of the chosen publication. The wider the circle of people who are potentially interested in this topic, the better. No interest = no readers = no sales.
The press release should also be relevant. If the event happened two months ago, the news is hopelessly “stale” and will not be of any interest to anyone.
The press release is broken down into the following structure:
- the title;
- a lead paragraph;
- text;
- quotes;
- information about the company;
- contacts.
The optimal amount of text for an ideal press release is around 2000-2500 characters and should fit on 1 page in case it needs to be printed.
It is usually posted under the heading Press Releases, Company News. Press release headlines are often not published in the main news feed.
Why is it needed?
It is needed to create and build relationships with editors and the public by providing information about current events, changes in the company, and the release of new products. It is also a great tool for creating a positive informational background around a brand.
How should it be prepared for publishing?
According to the principle of an inverted pyramid: the most important part is the title, then add a few more details in the lead paragraph followed by all the details in the main section.
It is necessary to communicate concrete facts without using pre-written templates for the sake of text length. The text should be dominated by active verbs where the subject of the action is needed, for example: “The factory recently launched a new workshop that will help increase safety awareness”. It’s important to keep in mind that calls to action or open advertising are not allowed.
The date of an event and contacts for getting in touch with the company are required if journalists wish to attend an event or write an article based on the press release.
The News Story
What are the features of a news story?
News is material with relevant information that is important to people. Unlike a press release, it is aimed at a wide range of readers of news portals and should be of either political, economic, or social interest to them.
What’s the purpose behind it?
The purpose is for editors of selected publications who prefer to not write their own material and are ready to publish your news as is — if it is worthy of public attention.
Posting news instead of a press release makes sense when the “shelf life” of the event is short. If the newsbreak becomes outdated by the time journalists write an article based on the press release, then it’s not going to gain a lot of traction.
News is an excellent PR tool for a well-known company or public figure if the events surrounding them may be of interest to the general public. Such publications help to increase brand awareness and create a positive information background.
How should it be prepared?
The principle of writing news can be used the same way as a press release – an inverted pyramid. The structure of the news is similar — a heading, a lead paragraph, text, and quotes. But instead of a reference about the company, you can give a background of previous events on the same topic.
Like a press release, typical news does not allow advertising or enthusiastic product endorsements.
News is direct communication with a wide audience of readers. Its text should be simple and accessible. If, within a news publication, you can use simple terminology that is understandable to journalists and editors of thematic media, then complex terminology should be avoided.
The volume of such material is usually small, ranging from 500 to 2000 characters.
Where does your material appear?
Your story will be added to the main news feed.
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The Article
What are the features of an article?
An article is an analytical genre that involves the study of a chosen topic. The purpose of the material is to analyze facts, events, and processes in order to determine the patterns underlying them.
What is it used for?
To some extent, this is a universal format. Articles can be used as a means to:
- present a new product or user manual;
- answer popular questions;
- formulate a problem and suggest ways to solve it;
- compare your product with other competitors;
- position yourself or a company as an expert in a particular field or market.
How is an article prepared?
If we approach the issue in a simplified way, an article is written accordingly:
- a presentation of the main thesis (description of the problem);
- a list of arguments that proves or refutes the thesis;
- conclusions.
The most important thing in the article should be the informativeness for the reader. The text of the article should include specific facts, their analysis, and conclusions based on these data.
If other informational materials need to be neutral and objective, then the article can express the personal position of the author. The rule of good form in this case is the separation of facts and opinions, as well as the indication of authorship.
One important thing to keep in mind is that there should be one article for one topic. If the topic is too extensive, it is better to break the material into several articles.
Most articles are going to be quite large in size. The text volume for an average article can run anywhere from 5000 characters and can reach the size of a long read – several tens of thousands of characters.
A popular type of article is a case study. They also have unique features.
Where does your material appear?
Your post is likely to appear on the publication’s home page and general feed.
Read more:
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The Case Study
What are the features of a case study?
A case study involves practical examples of actions you implement to achieve certain goals.
For what purpose is it used?
Case studies help to increase the credibility of the company and demonstrate its experience and capabilities. It’s a way to both brag about accomplishments and gain a solid reputation as an expert.
Case studies can inform not only about success stories but also about failures. In such cases, it is not the fact of failure that matters — after all, everyone faces them — but how you reacted to it and what were your conclusions.
How should a case study be prepared?
This type of article must include:
- conditions of the task – the goal pursued;
- actions taken;
- the result;
- conclusions.
Conclusions are the most important part of a case study, regardless of the achievement of the goal.
The Interview
What are the features of an interview?
The format of an interview involves questions and answers. Although such material is more often devoted to one topic, there can be several topics discussed at the same time also.
Basically, an interview is documentation of a conversation. Unlike other materials that require objectivity, the interview itself is subjective: it represents the opinion of the interviewer.
What is its purpose?
Interviews are the perfect solution for the PR of a public person. It allows you to reveal interesting details about a person’s personality. Unlike an article, an interview can address several topics at once. For example, the approach to work and professional skills of the interviewee can be discussed and then switched to his/her family and personal life.
How to prepare an interview?
Typically, an interview is a script of a live conversation. That means the author of the text prepares questions in advance to cover the chosen topic. Keep in mind that the interview can quickly move in a different direction if the interviewer unexpectedly voices unknown facts that may change the topic of the interview.
The author of the text who is interviewing also acts as a moderator, setting the tone of the conversation. To display the voiced information in the most complete way, the text includes both the questions of the interviewer and the answers of the interviewee.
Example: Sasha Stoltz about PR for artists: Interview with PR expert
The Review
What are the features of a review?
Basically, a review is an overview of something — a presentation of the features, benefits, and ways to use a product or service.
For what purpose can an interview be used?
Detailed reviews inspire more trust among users. This type of material is suitable for launching and promoting a new product.
How to prepare a review?
A review is a detailed description of a product, usually outlined in a specific way. It usually consists of the following parts:
- a general description of the product;
- its characteristics;
- advantages and disadvantages;
- personal experience of use (optional);
- conclusions.
It is customary to confirm any statement in the review with concrete facts. As they say, proof comes first.
The Contributor Post
A contributor post is material that will be published by a contributor in a major publication like Forbes, HBR, Business Insider, or Mashable.
A contributor is a person who gives you a chance to be featured in famous publications. As with any method, this one has its benefits and drawbacks.
What are the features of a contributor post?
- It has the ability to influence the style and manner of storytelling. An author listens to you, finds some details and information about the services and early years of the company development, and puts it in his or her own words on paper. Because the article is a native advertisement rather than a direct advertisement, writers usually know what facts and information they can include.
- There is the possibility of removal. It means that sometimes these articles may be deleted. You can work with a contributor, but there is a chance that the materials can be disallowed for publicity. Example: the Huffington Post closed its contributor program.
- It can create a more positive relationship with the general public. By hiring guest writers, you rely on their knowledge and skills to tell the readers about your company’s contributions and advancements.
- The contributor does not own the website and therefore cannot influence what is published.
- The conditions, prices, and terms of this posting may vary.
- Editors can add other links to the article.
*If you want a guaranteed publication with clear terms of placement, please choose the type of media that allows direct submission to the editors.
What is the purpose of a contributor post?
With a contributor post, you will not be allowed to advertise your company, services, or products directly. But you can mention your brand, any companies or people you are partnering with, and most importantly, convey a desired message to your target audience. As with most forms of marketing, nobody can guarantee an increase in sales after your article is published, however, potential customers will still see the contributor post in online search results when researching your company.
How to prepare a contributor post?
PRNEWS.io is an agency where you have the ability to connect with contributors to post articles in various major publications. The rules for engaging a contributor are simple and usually flow smoothly, however, the agency does offer 24-hour customer support to help avoid any issues during the process if any problems arise.
Sending news to editors of news agencies and industry portals through PRnews.io is possible from anywhere in the world and only requires a few simple steps:
- Complete your registration and create a personal account.
- Select the required news site.
- Pay the cost of placing PR materials.
- Upload the press release.
Where does your material appear?
In Forbes, they are called contributors and are published in the Opinions section.
Read more: From HBR to Mashable: Publish Guest Posts on Major Publications with the Help of Contributors
The Mention
A mention is when webmasters add links from their web page to your website or a mention of your company within an existing article on their site.
What are the features of a mention?
Mentions are, in a nutshell, exactly what the name describes. The PR source is mentioning a person or a company in the article in which sometimes a direct link back to the mentioned source is provided. Either way, the person or company gains recognition through either search engine results or direct brand recognition.
Mentions can also be used for reputation management, crisis communication, and brand communication.
What is the purpose of a mention?
A mention refers to the right relevant mention of branded keywords, which helps the user correlate the references with any brand and hence further help in building a reputation.
The main power behind mentions is the sheer number of media mentions about the brand, the people, the products, and the services of the client’s organization. When done within reason, there is no such thing as “too much”.
PR mentions are important for the following reasons:
- The frequency and reach of “PR mentions” for the brand help build correlation and recollection for the brand and its products and services.
- PR mentions give a digital signal to search engines. More mentions from high authority sites are always better for boosting search engine rankings.
- It helps build inbound traffic online and offline. The likelihood of people reading the mention increases as the number of mentions increases, as does the likelihood of them searching for website information or making offline inquiries.
- Contextual mentions help build a strong, relevant perception of a brand.
How to prepare a mention?
You should provide a link, anchor text, and a short sentence edit if required of the material that you want to promote. You may recommend a URL for the link insertion or let the webmaster find one for you
Wrapping It All Up
Use different types of content for different purposes:
- An event has occurred that will be of interest to thematic media — issue a press release.
- The newsbreak is hot and the event is interesting to the general public — publish the news.
- If you need to confirm the status of an expert in the market and increase the credibility of the company — write an analytical article.
- If you want to show off your achievements or draw conclusions after a failure — prepare a case.
- You need PR for a public-facing person — conduct an interview.
- You need to promote a new product — create a review.
The PRNEWS.IO team can help in preparing these materials and distributing them around the world. They provide everything you need to make your PR experience straightforward and effective.
