Every type of business announcement requires a different type of press release. If you work in public relations, you will be familiar with press releases. Whether your organization hosts a well-known industry event, brings on an impressive new recruit, or announces a long-term relationship, the team expects you to generate best-in-class PR materials.
To effectively connect with your target audience, you must first grasp the numerous types of press releases that work for different circumstances. This essay will concentrate on the most common sorts of press releases. We’ll review the different types of press releases and when to use them.
Types of Press Releases
All the primary types of press releases follow the same format. Here are some common scenarios to consider when your team relies on you to spread the word. Remember that the format is consistent, with the date, header, subhead, boilerplate, and contact information all present.
1. Event Press Release
An event press release is intended to publicize a notable event your firm is hosting, attending, or supporting. These press releases are intended to enhance public awareness and urge media members to attend or cover your event. As a result, timing is critical. To increase attendance at an event, you must distribute the press release well in advance of the event. This will allow reporters plenty of time to put the event on their calendars and start planning.
Event marketing press releases must address the “five W’s” of journalism (who, what, when, where, and why). If your goal is to attract the media, consider this your invitation to them. Consider receiving an invitation to a birthday party with no information about where you should be or when you should be there. That wouldn’t be the friendliest invitation in the world, would it?
A reporter would feel the same way. If you want them to come, you must make it as simple as possible for them. Making your “when” and “where” clear in your press release will boost the likelihood of receiving RSVPs. Along with your “five W’s,” you’ll need to include the H: “how?” If you’re writing for the general public, describe how they can get tickets or sign up to attend.
Similarly, suppose you want to enhance media attendance. In that case, you’ll need to tell them who to contact to sign up (with current contact information) or direct them to the sign-up form via hyperlink. Finally, a good event press release should describe why attending this event is worthwhile. What distinguishes your event as the greatest of its kind? What advantages will attendees gain? By stressing the value, you will increase interest and attendance.
2. New Hire Press Release
A new hire news release is a type of press release used by businesses to announce significant leadership changes. Press releases for new hires often focus on high-level executives (think C-suite and equivalent) and serve as the formal announcement to educate customers, investors, and the broader public about the recruitment.
It would help if you emphasized critical highlights from their professional past along with the new hire’s name and role. This helps objectively articulate what they will offer to the firm and provides customers and investors with a clearer understanding of what to expect from the new boss.
This section can cover previous positions they’ve held, firms they’ve worked for, and any notable professional accomplishments. Furthermore, you’ll want to go through their primary tasks and priorities moving ahead since this will help form the job they’re filling.
A comment from a current executive team member can reflect the company’s excitement while also emphasizing the new hire’s primary tasks and priorities. On the other hand, a remark from the new hire can legitimize your brand by highlighting what drove them to their new post. If the employee they’re replacing has moved within the organization, you should also mention it briefly.
3. Award Press Release
When your company obtains an impressive award, an award press release will assist you in spreading the word. Even though industry awards are widespread, they are rarely publicized. It would help if you publicized your accomplishments for your audience to learn about them. A press release alerts them and promotes your organization as an industry leader.
It is critical to note that while your press release should showcase your accomplishment, it should not be too commercial. Avoid using excessive punctuation and emotional language. Your press release should still be objective and highlight your award in terms of business. Consider expressing your delight by describing how this honor distinguishes you as an industry leader or how it will enable you to further your company’s purpose.
That doesn’t mean you have to remove all emotion and excitement from your press release – after all, you did win a major award! Executive quotes provide an opportunity for your press release to communicate emotion. Having your CEO or president deliver a remark will provide a human touch and allow you to clarify what this honor means to your team. It’s much better if you get a quote from a member of the organization that supports or awards the honor.
Whether the award honors a whole organization or an individual, the firm’s boilerplate should be included at the bottom of the announcement. This will assist the reader in connecting the dots and bring the press release full circle.
4. Feature/Product Press Release
Even conglomerates like Apple, or Netflix, which has millions of fan blogs, forums, and podcasts, still employ press releases whenever a new product or upgrade is released.
This type of press release provides just enough information to pique the interest of journalists and entice them to try the new product or feature for themselves. They’ll often convert their experience into a story if they’re fans (or sometimes even if they’re not). Even if people don’t test the new product, media coverage elevates a product launch into a newsworthy event, giving your company some control over the narrative.
A press release introducing a new product or service should emphasize the exciting features that make it newsworthy. Concentrating solely on the new product or feature’s new features or attributes is not sufficient. The announcement must emphasize the benefits and explain how this distinguishes your business from competitors.
Because the excitement surrounding your new feature or product will not remain indefinitely, the timing of your introduction is essential. Suppose you do not intend to provide any outlets an exclusive. In that case, we recommend sending your press release a few days before the launch date. This will allow journalists enough time to prepare a story and, ideally, contribute to a flood of media coverage once the launch occurs.
5. Partnership Press Release
You’ve been working on that new collaboration agreement for months. Finally, you’ve reached an agreement that will benefit both organizations and their customers. What happens now that the documents have been signed? A press release is the best way to announce the news when it is fully official.
Fortunately, by harmonizing your values, you can express exactly what your consumer base can expect. Moreover, both businesses can use one other’s audiences to gain even more visibility. A collaboration helps both parties; your press release should do the same! Include your why and what in a partnership press release – explain why this decision was taken and what will change or, ideally, better.
Collaboration might be an excellent sign for investors, so draft a press release to pique their interest! You can also use this opportunity to excite your customers with new products, services, or experiences. Incorporating CEO quotes from both parties is an excellent method to share insight and demonstrate excitement.
Finally, the press release communicates how this will help customers, which is, let’s face it, what they genuinely care about. If you can persuade your audience that this collaboration will succeed, your press release has done its job.
Bottom Line
Different types of press releases aid in promoting brand and audience engagement. Many factors contribute to the successful deployment of a press release, including providing a captivating headline and plenty of accurate, well-written material. Journalists always prefer professionally produced pre-made press releases that they may readily integrate into their reports.
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