As I travel the country (sounds exciting until you here where I go and how I spend my time when on the road) the one common theme I hear from industrial companies is “I do not have time to write press release.” Or, “I have nothing to write about.”

Hearing these laments, the voice in my head wants to scream “YOU CAN’T AFFORD NOT TO!” But as a person who understand the pressures of time and prioritization I listen and discuss with them the challenges and issues they are facing in their business. Inevitably, the question comes up, how are you talking to the market, especially during the time before they need to buy your solution? How are you telling your story? At this point I get the answers of search strategies and web sites. While I say that is important and a critical component of their marketing efforts, by the time a buyer or specifier starts the search process they already have a company in mind. How are you reaching them before that search, before they visit your site? And the answer is many industrial marketers do not have a strategy for talking to the marketplace before the prospect realizes they have a need. This often leads to a discussion of the many ways to create an effective messaging campaign that places you in the group of suppliers a buyer is familiar with even if they have not bought from you yet. In this specific post, I am going to address one of the potential opportunities and start to answer the question “Why write a press release?”

Press releases, also called news releases, have been an important part of the marketing/communications mix for successful companies.  The one thing I have learned in my over twenty years of working in the B2B space is that successful companies are usually great marketing companies. One of the important tools they use is the news release. News releases communicate the latest news about your company and its products or services to the marketplace. Journalists rely on well-written press releases for story ideas and information. Due to the Internet, releases are also reaching your target audience directly.

In this post I want to focus on new and improved product and service releases. Press releases on new product developments are important to journalists for a variety of reasons, the major one being that their readers are interested in the latest product developments in their industry. If you have a new or improved product or service you need to write a release. Hiding your product or service advancements under a bushel does your company or your prospects and customers no good. You need to stand on the mountain and shout about it to let the marketplace know how you can solve their problems.

One big objection I hear from companies is that they do not want to let their competition know what they are doing. My response is most likely your competitor s already know the problem your potential market does not.

Done properly, press releases compliment any marketing efforts you have. From SEO to display advertising campaigns, releases are part of completing the marketing puzzle. It helps keep your name in front of your market every time you have something good to announce. It tells a story that can help brand your company. Press releases are also good search engine optimization tools.  A press release adds content to your site as well as provides rich keywords and phrases used by search engines.

Over the next several weeks I will break down the steps to write an effective release as well as share some great resources. I hope you stay tuned.

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