The role of the press release in today’s digital world is no longer primarily to interest journalists in doing a story. In fact, the primary reason for writing and distributing a press release via a wire service should be to generate leads through improving your company’s search engine optimization efforts. The press release is an effective and relatively inexpensive tool B2B companies should include in their public relations and marketing program to get their company in front of prospects, customers and other influencers.

Below are 8 key reasons why press releases are so valuable today:

1. Audience – About 80 million people get their news from online sources every day.

2. Cost-Effective Publicity – Press releases are an affordable means for B2B companies to communicate and connect with not only journalists, but with other important constituents such as customers and analysts. For example, a press release that is distributed through one of the top wire services will land in the email inbox of your prospects who have set up a “Google Alert” for key words and phrases related to your news and/or company.

3. Drive SEO – Once your release goes over the wire, it is picked up by online news organizations and publications – all of which link back to your site. These links are very important for boosting your organization’s SEO: the more links you have pointing back to your site, the better your “ranking” and the closer to the top of the list your company appears in search engine results for specific keywords.

4. Increased Website Traffic – A press release can further boost traffic to your website when you include “call to action” links in your releases when relevant, such as linking to your website to sign up for a webinar, downloading a white paper, requesting a demo, or linking to a YouTube video or podcast, etc.

5. Long Term Exposure – Press releases live online forever; years from now when people are searching your key terms or company name, your release will pop up.

6. Social Media Channels – Once your press release has been published, it can be re-purposed for use in your social media program. (If you do not have a social media program, you should.) Press releases provide additional free exposure when you share it out via a blog post, or post it on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter or other social media sites. Not only are other B2B companies more likely to see the information, the reach is increased exponentially with minimal additional time or cost.

7. Media Coverage – Submitting your release via a wire service also helps ensure that journalists can find information about your company or services. According to a Middleburg/Ross survey, 98 percent of journalists go online daily-with 73 percent of them looking for press releases*.

8. Enhance Reputation – A steady stream of newsworthy press releases positions your company as progressive and dynamic.

We’ve distributed hundreds of releases on behalf of our healthcare, insurance and technology clients in the past and have determined that for the type of news and/or announcements these B2B companies issue, two major news wire services (Business Wire and PR Newswire) deliver superior results in terms of online news site pick-up, visibility and boosting a company’s SEO.

In the next excerpt from Scott Public Relations’ white paper entitled “The Push/Pull Marketing Program: Proven Results for Today’s B2B Online & Social Media Driven Markets,” we’ll share more strategies for developing content that is on-target and compelling, and how when used in the right channels, can pique the interest of buyers, influencers, and the news media. To obtain a copy of this white paper, visit the White Papers section on our website at: Scott Public Relations.

* Sources: Middleberg/Ross Survey and Pew Internet and American Life Project

If you’re in the healthcare, insurance, technology or other professional services industries, and want to find out how our program will work for you, contact Scott Public Relations.

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