Once viewed as the only method of disseminating important information to the publics interested in your business, the press release or news release is no longer the be all and end all external communication method. With social media, webinars, proactive pitches and other communication channels, companies must be smart about which ones to use and when.

When issuing a press release, one of the very first questions that should be answered before developing it is - does the release stand a chance of being picked up and written about by a publication?  And by picked up, we aren’t talking about Google spiders and press release distribution services talking to each other. We’re talking about a human reading and deciding to write about it. While there is no guarantee that your press release will be picked up, you want to be sure to frame your communication in a way that is compelling and noteworthy (new product, service, award, office opening, etc.).  You have to ask yourself the question while writing it - why would the reporters I’m going to send this to write about my news more than the other dozens of releases they receive in a day?

If you cannot see your release being interesting not only to key stakeholders interested in your business, but to the reporters you are trying to developing relationships with, you need to ask yourself the following:

• Is this really news?
• And if it really is news, is it written effectively to grab the attention of a reporter and hopefully secure some unique press coverage for my company?

Once you answer those two questions you may have to reevaluate your actions and either not issue the release, maybe find another communication method, or revise the release to make sure it is newsworthy.

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