The old rules of marketing and PR have changed. Corporations can no longer sing their own praises from a campaign loud speaker, in the same way that they can no longer continue on with a business as usual approach that may have worked for years. This Tweet quoting Rupert Murdoch scrolled across my Hootsuite this morning: “The world is changing very fast. Big will not beat small anymore. It will be the fast beating the slow.” Since the Web has allowed people to read press releases directly, the rules for writing, optimizing and submitting press releases have changed. Today, Savvy agencies are using PR 2.0 to reach buyers directly and to rock their SEO.

Press releases are effective communication tools for SEO and PR professionals, as they provide a substantial amount of fresh, newsworthy content, and if optimized correctly, can rank well in the search engines. We’ve jotted down a few of our tried and true tips on crafting and optimizing releases in a way that increases the odds of two things 1. Getting noticed, published or driving inquiry, and 2. Increasing search rankings and inbound links to your site.

3 Seconds  You’ve got three seconds to capture attention in your header, provide an overview of the story and a compelling reason to read more in 500 words or less. So prior to writing, define your goal and audience, research 1-2 keyword phrases and add them to the header, sub header and body of your release.

Concise, Objective  Press releases are written to inform journalists, bloggers and now, your buyers directly. Your releases will do best if kept concise, objective, and in tip top grammar. With as much information as is out there, people ignore or reject releases that are pitchy or difficult to understand.

Remain Human  Releases stuffed with industry specific jargon or knowledge don’t speak to the wider audience that will be reading your release. Don’t assume your audience is familiar with, or cares much about, the topic you’re releasing. It’s your job to tell the story well enough that it’s understandable and with all luck, repeatable.

Stay Targeted  Yes, free PR submission sites are great inbound link builders for your site, and do to the ranking on some of the more popular ones, if optimized correctly the visibility will drive traffic to your site. However, don’t forget to stay targeted. Distribute your release to audiences that have an interest in the news you’re releasing. If you’re releasing a new product, send the release to the local media, and if you can find out which reporters cover that topic, give em’ a call and send it to them directly. There’s no harm in picking up the phone and calling reporters to see if they’re interested in your story.

Timing is Everything  There are good times to release, and of course, there are bad times. In the midst of a major news event or a late Friday hot summer day are certainly bad times. We at The Savy Agency prefer 5AM Monday morning. Other good times are typically during the summer months and around the holidays when things are a little slower.

Before you release, here’s a quick optimization checklist:

Have you included your keyword phrases?
Have you included tracking methods?
Have you posted in the online newsroom?
Have you written a blog on the announcement and included a link?
Have you released via social media outlets?
Have you distributed to the free wires?
Are you ready to monitor rankings, mentions, traffic and outcomes?
Great, now go for it, and, repeat…

As always, we’re here if you need us,
The Savy Agency Team