It’s a shame what people believe about public relations simply because of myths that are perpetuated by others. Don’t be a fool; know that the following are nothing but hot air.
Myth #1: Journalists Will Write About Your Press Release Without Contacting You
If you’re fantasizing about waking up to find hundreds of media mentions without any journalist actually reaching out to you (and making you work for it!), you’ll be disappointed. Sure, journalists can find your release and get interested in your news, but they’ll likely email or call you to get details.
This is a good thing! It gives you the opportunity to provide more dimension to your story as well as a quote.
Myth #2: Press Releases are Dead
A few years ago, Google representative Matt Cutts said that press releases wouldn’t benefit your SEO rankings, though many have questioned the validity of that statement. Regardless of what press releases do for your ranking, they do give you a wider presence on the web. Instead of only being mentioned on your own website, you’ve now got information about your business on all the sites that publish your press release. Consider them all breadcrumbs leading back to your website.
Myth #3: You Need to Hire a PR Professional or Team
I’m big on DIY when it comes to press releases, and I’m here to tell you: you don’t have to hire a pro to write press releases, distribute them or even pitch the media. If you are willing to dedicate time to learning how to do these tasks yourself (or have an employee who can take them on), you can save thousands of dollars on your PR.
If you’re a mid-sized firm, working with a PR pro can take the pressure off of you, so consider whether you really need to hire a full-on PR team if you can outsource it.
Myth #4: All You Need is PR
A lot of business owners put all their eggs in the PR basket rather than diversifying their strategy across multiple marketing efforts, and that’s a shame. Press releases can be a great tool, combined with social media, email, blogging and other digital marketing endeavors, and can even be enhanced by those other tools.
Having the right expectations for your PR efforts will make a difference in the results you get.
Images: yosuke muroya, Tony Fischer, muffinn (Creative Commons)
