No matter what kind of product you’re bringing to market, a well-crafted press release is an important part of your launch strategy. That said, a press release should never be the only part of your launch strategy: A press release should give reporters all the detailed information they need to write a news story, but the efforts surrounding the release will ultimately make or break your next big product debut.
In addition to a well-written press release, a successful product launch requires a massive amount of effort, including in-person or virtual media briefings, offering media interview sessions with your leadership team, coordinating hands-on reviews of your product, and producing compelling product videos and images.
Still, a good press release is essential to help get the word out and to provide a comprehensive overview of your new product to reporters. Here are five tips that will help you create the best press release strategy for your next product launch:
First, understand your media targets. It’s important to remember that the primary audience for your press release isn’t the general public. In all likelihood, the general public will learn about your new product by reading media coverage informed by your press release and other media-facing launch activities. Doing research ahead of time on reporter interests, editorial strategy and each outlet’s coverage plans will give you a better idea of the key features to highlight in your release and the best reporters to reach out to. Reporters generally like brevity, and they’ll appreciate if your press release is direct, concise and compelling.Embrace the inverted pyramid. If you want to communicate to reporters in their own language, the inverted pyramid format is key. Use the title and first two paragraphs of your release to emphasize your main points and clearly explain the key selling points of your product. Your email subject line is also important: Reporters are inundated with hundreds of incoming emails every day, and they often don’t have time to read and reply to pitches. If your release can quickly answer the five W’s (who, what, where, when, and why) and establish your product’s competitive advantages up-front, reporters are more likely to be engaged and interested in following up.
Add color via executive quotes or blog posts. Your press release should include a quote from an executive or key stakeholder, as it will provide important context as to how your new product aligns with your company’s overall business strategy. For more in-depth storytelling, you may want to publish a blog post to cover interesting aspects of your product’s origin story, development process, core technologies, and key innovations. While a press release works best when it’s structured like a formal and concise news story, a blog post can be written more informally and personally, helping to bring your product’s story to life. If you write an accompanying blog post, be sure to link to it in the press release: Reporters will be interested in reading the blog, and they’ll appreciate that the longer-form storytelling is done outside of the press release itself.
Compelling product videos and images are a must. Product videos are a great way to attract the attention of journalists and the general public at the same time. According to HubSpot research, 66% of consumers have learned about a brand or product via video, and 52% of people are more likely to share a video than any other type of content. Those statistics suggest that compelling product videos and images will also help you expand your launch publication channels to social media and YouTube. Providing visuals with your release also does reporters a big favor: If they decide to publish an article, they’ll already have supporting assets from your release.
Take time to optimize your content for search engines. Whether you’re posting a press release to the wire, a blog on your website or a product video on YouTube, the burden of search-engine optimization (SEO) is on you. Choose your headline and keywords strategically, but make sure you don’t overload your release with buzzwords and corporate jargon. It usually only takes a few adjustments to elevate your content’s visibility on search engines, which will drive more people to your social channels, videos, website and store.
Press releases are a tried-and-true staple for a reason: They give reporters all the fundamental information they need to cover your next product announcement quickly and accurately. They’re an important piece of the puzzle when it comes to amplifying your product launch via media coverage – and supporting materials such as videos, blogs and social campaigns can boost interest further among reporters and consumers alike.
