Is it Press Release-Worthy? Five Tips to Evaluate the Newsworthiness of Your Announcement
Sometimes we can get excited about happenings from our business, and you know what, that’s great! However, what is exciting to us internally might not be exciting to everyone. Before developing and distributing a press release, it’s important to evaluate the newsworthiness of your announcement.
Does it really matter if you send out a press release if the news isn’t newsworthy? It does. Creating a press release that isn’t newsworthy is a waste of time and money, both valuable resources that could be used to help move the needle for your business. Additionally, an unnewsworthy press release is like crying wolf. Too many can make media skip over your next announcements – even if the next one is truly newsworthy.
Therefore, before you distribute a press release, it is important to ask yourself these five questions:
Is my announcement timely? Is this news happening right now or soon? Great! If it’s already passed or if it’s more than three months down the line, it might be best to not send it or wait. The only exception to this rule is typically holiday season announcements. These should be distributed a couple weeks early to allow time for media outreach and to gain traction during a busy time.
Is my announcement relevant? Does it matter to what’s going on in your industry? Is it appropriate for the current media climate? If it is more niche, sometimes sharing the news out via social media or to a targeted audience through an email marketing campaign can be more effective.
Is my announcement impactful? Will it make a difference and is it important enough for other people to know about it? Certain content like new product launches, new hires, events and crisis management often have the most impact in the industry.
Is my announcement interesting? Will others in your industry find it interesting? What about those outside of your industry? The goal of a press release is to inform the audience, therefore making sure that you have enough substance is critical to catching the media’s attention.
Is my announcement noticeable? What other noise is happening both in your industry and in the world as a whole? Is it big enough news to be noticed? Over the last year, we had a very difficult news cycle with the pandemic, election, Olympics and the Russia-Ukraine war to name a few. During these big events, it sometimes pays to hold your announcement for a couple days to ensure that the media have bandwidth to cover the news.
Examples of newsworthy announcements
You might still wonder if your news is press release worthy. Here are some common reasons to create and send a press release:
- Launching a business
- Announcing a new product
- Announcing a rebrand or change of name
- Completion of an acquisition
- Receiving an award
- Hosting an event
- New hire of a c-suite level employee
- Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) involvement including volunteering or sizeable donation
- Promoting a contest
Put it out over the wire
A wire distribution service can help your press announcement reach a large audience. Press releases sent out over various wire services like Business Wire can reach hundreds, or even thousands, of media outlets. In addition, you can target specific regions and industries to ensure your news is put in front of the right audience. Another key benefit of issuing a release over a wire service is that it can get indexed via search to support your brands SEO goals.
Are you looking to hire a PR agency that can assist with your press release distributions? Contact our PR team today for help developing and distributing your next announcement! If your announcement is timely, relevant, impactful, interesting and noticeable, you’re ready to go!