Local business development professional Richard Berger presents the third in a seven-article series designed to help Long Beach businesses successfully market themselves in a depressed economy.

Press, Press, Pull

Our last two articles dealt with creating an economic theme and (re)purposeful marketing. In this installment, we learn how to effectively use the press to pull customers to your business.

Did You Know that You’re a Content Producer? Yes You Are!

You can stand out in this freakonomy. You have new products and/or services, additions to your team, worthy accomplishments, new clients and probably a slew of other stuff that you can turn into news-worthy press releases.

From local to international media, the Internet makes it easy to distribute your press releases to a wide variety of sources and consumers. News sources, either for businesses or consumers, are always looking for the freshest news to bring their readers.

“Press releases are important. There is no other way to put it,” states Ryan ZumMallen, Managing Editor at the lbpost.com. If your press release is newsworthy, it will get picked up and published by any number of media. However, says ZumMallen, “Don’t send out releases just to do it. Send out releases when there is new information to share.”

“Be very clear with what your news release is about,” he adds. “Explain why the event or information is newsworthy. Include contact information with at least an e-mail address and phone number.”

Also, distributing press releases in a search engine optimized format helps in some very important ways. If your press release is picked up and published on the web:

  • That means you got press! Your press release was deemed newsworthy and it was published.
  • You have organic placement! If you’ve optimized your release for search engine rank placement (SERP), keywords and phrases related to your business will return this press release in search results.
  • You have a new backlink! Google likes links that go back to your main website. It uses back links to help determine site rank. Each press release that gets published on the web is a new backlink for your site.

Taking the search optimized tactic into consideration at the beginning is important and many businesses overlook this prime opportunity to extend the reach of their media efforts.

Even from a traditional news release perspective, know your intent. “Before you draft your press release, have a clear purpose in mind,” instructs Luis Maimoni, Creative Director at Fresh! in Long Beach. “If you’re writing because you’d like your news covered in the media, write something newsworthy. Think press release, not puff release.”

Focusing on industry-related information venues and related sources, both locally and nationally, facilitates your press release in a targeted and measurable way. “Be sure you distribute your message to influential bloggers, web sites and online communities,” offers Maimoni. Depending on which news outlets and media sources you distribute through, you can track the effectiveness of your press release and learn to better understand which sources produce the best results.

Properly placed press releases often lead to direct and indirect sales and create credibility for your company’s services and/or products in the marketplace. Additionally, being able to demonstrate positive newsworthy accomplishments strengthens your brand and keeps your product or service in front of your consumer longer than typical advertising massages.

“Even if your release doesn’t turn into an article,” explains ZumMallen. “The fact that editors and publishers are reading your releases keeps your business in the front of our minds and will make it more likely that a future release will turn into an article.”

By consistently keeping in front of the press, you can build some significant awareness; not to mention the additional benefits of issuing press releases via the Internet and the possibility of having an article written about your press release.

How has your business benefited from press releases or other types of media announcements?

Richard is co-founder of the digital business solutions firm ASTRALCOM, LLC, a published author and an avid socio-political marketing fan. Previously appointed to the Presidential Business Commission and recognized as California Businessman of the Year, Richard’s primary business focus is assisting clients achieve success through effective social intelligence messaging and customer experience management. Richard encourages your comments and feedback. He can be reached at 562.240.2114, via email through the lbpost.com at [email protected], or by posting your comments here.