Winning Press Release
Marketing & PR

4 Expert Tips for Writing a Winning Press Release

When your organization has some big news to share, a press release is one of the best ways to announce it to the world. However, even though a press release is meant to shine a light on your company’s achievements, taking this approach won’t get you very far.

From editors and reporters to investors and clients, everyone reading your press release wants to know why they should care about your news. Why should journalists cover it? Why should potential customers be interested in your company, products, or services?

If your press release isn’t well-written, it won’t get any attention. In some of the worst cases, it could affect your reputation, which is a major contributor to sales and, therefore, profit. As a matter of fact, according to the World Economic Forum, over 25 percent of a company’s market value can be directly related to its reputation.

So how can you make sure that your release benefits, rather than harms, your business?

Here are four tips to help you write a press release that effectively tells your story while piquing the interest of readers and building your brand.

Get to the Point, Fast

The opening paragraph of your press release is where you could win or lose readers. Will they read your full release or just gloss over it?

Your lede sentence should get to the meat and potatoes of your announcement in an impactful way. State your news, why it’s important, and why people should care about it. Many press releases make the mistake of including a brief company description in the lede sentence. For example:

COMPANY NAME, a leading provider of SERVICE, is proud to announce [NEWS]…..

This type of lede sentence is pretty dull and will likely prevent readers from going through the rest of your press release. To create a better opening, lead with one of these examples:

  • A strong statement about your news: COMPANY NAME received $XXX in funding to expand its existing IoT solution aimed at solving a long-standing problem in the manufacturing industry.

  • A significant data point: With the number of connected devices forecasted to reach over 75 billion by 2025, COMPANY NAME aims to help businesses enhance safety and security through real-time monitoring.

Now that you have your lede in place, the rest of the first paragraph in your press release should build on the opener. Include all the essential details that make your story newsworthy. For instance, if you’re announcing a partnership with another organization, provide information surrounding the goal for the partnership and the expected outcome of it.

Build Your Story

The following paragraphs after your opener should build upon the story of your announcement. The more compelling your story is, the more likely it is to receive coverage.

Use statistics or third-party research data to amplify important points. Explain how your news is impacting an industry or a community. Add quotes from key players, such as the company’s CEO, a board member, or an individual relevant to your story. For example, this could be a client who had the opportunity to use a product you’re launching and who can offer valuable insights.

This is your opportunity to create the narrative around your news. So be sure to utilize clear and captivating information that supports your story.

Be Concise

According to a study by Greentarget, 68 percent of journalists spend less than a minute reading press releases. One in three looks at releases for less than five minutes. And 53 percent said they would find it helpful for information to be presented in a bullet point format, citing press releases issued by police departments as an example of easy-to-read content.

You have a short window to get your news across, so be impeccable with your writing. Get rid of the fluff. Focus on the facts and narrative.

As a general rule, you should keep press releases to one or two pages. This will force you to condense the most salient information into a more readable document.

Don’t Be Complicated

Overly technical language can be a death sentence for a press release. In fields like IoT and high-tech, this isn’t always easy to do. But it’s absolutely necessary to make sure your press releases are easy to comprehend for the masses.

Even journalists focused on complex beats call for this because their focus is on making consumable content for their audiences.

If your release does require the use of technical verbiage to detail your story, you can opt for bullet points. This helps to highlight complicated but critical information without having to bury it in a paragraph that could get overlooked.

There are a ton of press release templates online that you could use to craft your own announcements. But writing a high-level press release that can help your company gain coverage in the media and amongst influencers takes a lot more than simply filling in blocks of text in a template.

These tips can help you write winning press releases, but if you’re seeking media coordination and distribution as well to amplify it, the team at IoT Marketing has you covered! Contact us today to learn more about our PR services.

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of internet of things concept
Marketing & PR

Successful IoT Marketing Content: Factors Beyond Word Count

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a fast-growing concept with more people and businesses looking for ways to adopt its diverse applications. Your IoT marketing strategy has the power to determine whether you or your competitor gets these new business leads. One of the factors you must consider is whether you are maintaining a good online presence and ranking highly in search engine results. Many studies have been conducted that have found a correlation between the length of the online content and search engine rankings; but to be effective, you must look further than that.


Where Current Content-Length Studies Fall Short

Although several studies have concluded that longer articles rank higher, it’s necessary to interrogate these results. It should go without saying that your potential clients care more about the content of your business blog than about the word count. These studies, although they make use of large data set, simplify the relationship between word count and rankings.

One of the factors that must be taken into consideration is the kinds of keyword categories being looked at. For example, people searching for the best restaurants in their area may not be looking for lengthy articles but a quick source of information. Different industries may show different trends when it comes to the length and type of content people are looking for. Another important fact is that search engines rank content based on a variety of factors such as SEO and relevance which may or may not be achieved better in longer content.


Maximizing Your Content

Before you post any content on your business blog or website, you must have a target audience in mind. Is your content geared towards home users of the technology, small businesses, or large commercial clients? Are they looking for quick solutions or an in-depth breakdown of IoT technology? Once you are clear about this, you can tailor your content to their needs and interests as well as to your objectives for posting content.

Your IoT marketing strategy can take different forms. Perhaps you want to generate new business leads and be the go-to website for installation or troubleshooting answers. Your readers want content that contains more useful and expert knowledge without all the filler words and fluff.

Another important aspect you should focus on, apart from the information included, is the writing style and technique. Is it too casual or too formal? Is it oversimplified or far too complex for your purposes and audience? Is your content well-written, free from errors, and easy to digest? The more readable your content, the more readers are likely to find it useful and make it to the end. You should also take advantage of keyword density recommendations so that you reach those looking for content such as yours.

When you have specific IoT marketing objectives in mind, it matters much less which rules you follow about the word count of your content. If you can produce quality content that adds value to your readers and you can make use of SEO tools, your content is more likely to be appreciated, shared, and ranked higher in search results.

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