I read an article on Ragan.com that highlighted a survey of communicators about the usefulness of press releases in today’s PR environment. Below are some of the highlights:
• 49 percent of respondents said press releases are “as useful as ever”
• 33 percent said they are a necessary evil that won’t go away soon
• 64 percent target press releases most often to print outlets
• 45 percent said press releases are losing relevance because of the rise of social media
As a younger member of the PR community, I do not remember the days of faxing press releases and then following up via phone (yes, there were days before e-mail). True, the rise of new media and a 24/7 news cycle may be decreasing the value of the lengthy, traditional press release to certain audiences who are social-media savvy. On the flip side, my parents remember the old days and have no idea how Facebook works or what a Tweet is, and they do not want to know. A demographic still exists for the traditional press release.
In the end, the critical question you need to ask is: who are your audiences? Are your buyers reading blogs and creating lists on Twitter? Then you need to alter your outreach to reach the writers on these networks. However, some B2B decision-makers have The Wall Street Journal delivered to their front door and pick up BusinessWeek at the newsstand, so these are the outlets where they need to be reached.
At Articulate, we are looking to the future and different ways of communicating our client’s messages. Smart PR pros (and we like to think we’re smarter than the average bear) need to get creative about their role not only within the realm of PR, but within the sales and marketing spectrum.
By Ashleigh Egan
