Here’s Why Your Press Releases Aren’t Generating Media Hits
Here’s a common scenario: You're a marketing or communications professional, and your boss tells you that your company needs more media visibility and asks you to do something about it. But you don’t have experience in PR, so you start figuring out how to get earned media. You decide to purchase a press release distribution service and send out a press release to dozens of media outlets and hundreds of journalists. You wait and wait and finally start wondering, where’s all the media coverage?
This is often the case when new clients come to us. They have tried and failed in PR. That’s why we're sharing today the biggest reasons why your press releases are not generating media coverage.
?? You don’t pitch your press releases
Just sending your press release through a distribution service rarely gets your story picked up because the competition is too fierce. You’re lucky if a news journalist reads your press release for even 10 seconds. The fact is, you need to be a well-known brand or have a highly interesting story to earn media attention.
As an unknown brand without major news to announce, you need to spend hours pitching your press release. Start pitching a week or two before the mass sendout. Explain to relevant journalists why you think this topic could matter to them, ask if they would like to receive the press release, and offer them the chance to interview your campaign’s spokesperson. This is one of the most critical phases in PR campaigns.
??You don’t find relevant journalists
As mentioned in the first section, you need to always find relevant journalists for your story. The different kinds of mass lists that you can create on PR platforms are usually poor quality, and you will miss out on a lot of relevant journalists. Unfortunately, finding the best contacts often requires manual work, but it pays off.
Now, the main question is: How do you find the best contacts? Simply read the news and try to find journalists who often write about the topic you’re tackling. Sometimes, they’re specialized in this matter, and sometimes, they’re generalists but interested in this topic.?
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??You’re using the wrong story angles
A press release shouldn’t be a blog post or a platform to tell stories that are interesting only within your company. Before deciding on the topic and the story angle, ask yourself: Does anyone care about this, and could I imagine seeing this exact story about us in the news? If you’re hesitating, you likely won’t see results. Find a topic and an angle that you truly believe in.
The real key to finding the right angle is newsworthiness. Often, companies issue press releases even though they don't have anything new or interesting to say, which is why the press releases are usually boring company jargon or marketing content. You need to read the media and study what is considered news. Then, you will learn to dig a little deeper to find the right news angles.
To be concrete, don’t use an angle like this: 'Company X launches Solution Y to make airplanes more environmentally friendly.' Instead, use an angle like this: 'Innovative Solution Cuts Airplane Emissions by 25% – Potentially Saving Industry 215 Million Tons of CO2 Annually, Data Suggests'.
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