May 23, 2006
The beleaguered press release has a new form,maybe...
Today Todd Defren and the Shift team announced their social media press release format. Using of course their new format :-) I'll add my well-done to the chorus with some but's:
- I still wish we weren 't so focused on the press release... in whatever form ... and instead worried more about news value.Worthless announcements will still be worthless, even in a new format. The root problem isn't the format of the press release, however odd. It is the use of the press release for stupid stuff (edited -- the first version of this post used stronger language).
- The press release is just a document. The real work is in the conversation with reporters. Call it the pitch, call it whatever you want. Our job is to tell interesting stories that other people want to repeat, whether in a newspaper or a blog.
- I am still concerned that this need/drive for a new announcement format is driven by the tech sector. There are boatloads of folks in other sectors (media and clients alike) who just are not as net savvy... yet. We need to remember them, and continue to talk to them in whatever language makes sense.
It's all about stories. Tell good ones.
Tags: PR, public relations, press release
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Posted @ 6:05PM in Blogging, PR
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Comments
It is a good start, but they may find this 'lifts the covers' on a powerful PR secret: any startup or emerging company can stitch together elements of the press release from an open source format, syndicate that data and have any reporter who wants subscribe to it.
Kudos for Shift's efforts in getting its name out; not sure how they'll convert, though.
Susan; I think you make an excellent point here and one I didn't focus on, which is content.
I have long shunned the press release for other more effective techniques, a phone or e-mail pitchto a reporter I know, for instance.
And also, I use fact sheets a lot, with the names and numbers of appropriate contacts.
So, while I really like Todd's mix-up of information plus tools like RSS (very techy as you point out), I also am very concerned about the quality of content, and training, of PR professionals.
Todd Defren has posted a Web 2.0-based news release template on his blog. Reaction seems to be generally positive, with some taking a wait and see attitude. The idea is to ensure all new media needs are met with one document. It’... [Read More]