George Odenyo Litunya's

Thought Leadership
Image of a writer working on a press release
Press release writing

There is a new phenomenon in the social realm, called the social press release. This phenomenon utilizes social media as a channel for distributing press releases. An idea, which we must say, is contributing positively to the practice of press release writing. Also, one that has ceased the digital tide.

But as much as the digital channels have boosted our content distribution, it is a separate issue for the writer to ensure that his press release, is seen. People post all types of content in the millions per day on social networks. 

The question then becomes, how do we get our press release seen and read?

Consider this: On 22nd February 2015, Charity Maina was raped and killed in Moi University. In a bid to quell, the heated outburst of the student body - the Vice Chancellor Prof. Richard Mibey issued a press release in the dailies the following day.

Now, according to readers, apparently, that release had many grammatical errors. A clear indication that someone in the administration was in a hurry to correct a great wrong. Guess where I picked this information? The social media. 

However,whether it achieved its intended purpose or not, is an issue at large. Suppose they didn't, what could they have done to gain traction?

As we know, in order to get our press releases ‘heard’ we need to use all media available. Statistics indicate that 26.5% of the African population use the internet. Consider this percentage and the inadequate infrastructures that we have. Factoring in that we are on the path to actual development, this number will soar. This is an indication for us to prepare ourselves to capitalize on this space.

With that in mind, here are 5 ways you can make your press release get traction online. 
  
Write Clear Headlines
It never gets old. In all writing, headlines are your ticket to a reader’s time. If it stands out, then you have increased your chances of getting your reader’s attention. If not then we have to work on this. On that note, your heading needs to be 22 characters or less.

The Length
A press release is a document that tells a synopsis of your company and or newsworthy information in the company. Answering the question of who, what, when, why, where & how of a topic. This 5W’s and 1H make the body of the release as airtight as possible. Keeping the release two pages or less or 600 words or less is a key ingredient. According to Elizabeth Hillmann of Discovery Education says, ‘The length of the press release should be under 600 words or no more than two pages to make it the most effective, and will aid in optimization.’ Solid advice.

Keywords
What are these? According to Corry Janssen, Technopedia, He says, ‘A keyword, in the context of search engine optimization (SEO), is a particular word or phrase that describes the contents of a web page. Keywords are intended to act as shortcuts that sum up an entire page.’ With that in mind, Elizabeth's advice that we need to use at least we use two or three keywords throughout your headline, subhead, and first paragraph to ensure consistency of messaging and increased chances of search results.

Rich Media
The saying that a picture is worth more than 1000 words never gets old. However, if we could go back, something worth adding is a great picture is worth so much more than 1000 words. In writing that press release, using high-quality media-pictures, infographics, and video can help your releases rise to the top in search.

Logo
In concluding our strategy of conquering the online space, always make it a habit of incorporating your company logo in all your releases. This makes it easier to find your release if someone searches for your company or brand name; the images will come up. 

Knowing how to make our press releases ‘heard’ is our daily objective. Leveraging the online space is a step towards making this objective a possibility. Try it out and let me hear from you.

Steve Osomba, Consulting Associate: Shares his views on Social Media

Actuate Digital (AD): Hello and thank you very much for taking the time to provide us with this interview Steve. We will jump right in.

AD: What is your perception of Social Media in organizations in as far as its contribution to communication, marketing and or PR?

SO: The advent of Social Media has really changed the way organizations, commercial and Not for Profit engage their audiences. The communication between organizations and audiences was not easy back then but today social media has transformed all that with real time interaction with the customers. The result is that the organizations have come ‘closer’ to their customers making the customer-business relationship much stronger and in effect strengthening their brand in the marketplace. 

AD: When using social media to push your organizational goals, in as far as communication, marketing or PR is concerned, what new 3 things have you learnt to date?

SO: These three new things are:

There is power in data. The insights are very useful in determining the appropriate content/messages that will likely be more impactful. Therefore, it is not just about posting anything

Social Media is just a part of bigger maze in the efforts of Communication, Marketing, and Public Relations. As much as it has made things simpler in terms of reaching out to the customers, we should not forget other mediums.

Social Media is a low budget-advertising medium that has relatively higher success rates compared to other mediums in terms of ROI. This can work perfectly for SMEs that have limited marketing budget as they work their way up.

AD: What are the key secrets to a successful social media strategy?

SO: I think the key secrets in social media strategy include having impactful content that is shared consistently and responding to queries in a timely and satisfying way.

AD: From your experience, do you think Kenyan C-Suite executives are warming up to the whole digital communications trends (social media)? Why?

SO: Yes, I believe they are and the reason being that digital communications is the future of doing business. Any C-Suite executive who ignores the wave of digital communications risks being left behind. In any case, customers are looking to engage with the final decision makers because they want affirmative responses to their enquiries. Currently, those handling social media platforms for various organizations are not delivering on this and customers are increasingly becoming agitated. The time for being ‘too big to handle such’ has run out.

AD: Tell us how you manage to execute your social media functions?

SO: Currently, there are myriad social media platforms and it will be quite challenging to use all of them considering all the forms of resources. To this end, I strategically choose those that would work for my company. Therefore, I prepare weekly social media calendar that details the various posts that I would share on each platform. I consistently do this every week and up to this very moment, the results are nothing less than impressive.

''...the key secrets in social media strategy include having impactful content...''

Steve's Bio:

He is a holder of Bachelor of Science in Communication & Public Relations from Moi University and a Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Marketing Management from Kenya Institute of Management (KIM). He is also a member of the Public Relations Society of Kenya (PRSK). He works with SMD Consulting Associate, a Strategy & Innovation Company as a Communication & Marketing Consultant. 
They say, if you lose money, you can always make more. However if you lose time, then you will never get it back. This makes time management a must have skill. And like all habits, it can be learned. 

For this reason, we should always be on the lookout for ways to better manage our time.

I came across this video about time management on entrepreneur.com and thought to share it with you. As we work on our time management skills, I hope these 10 steps help.

Cheers!


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