**If it isn’t something that you are familiar with, the complexities of SEO and online marketing can sometimes feel confusing at best. **
It is a discipline that doesn’t get much easier with research either, with many different practitioners having their own views on the best way to bring organic traffic to your website.
For small business owners and marketers who are tasked with improving the performance of their website without the luxury of a huge budget, using online PR can be an effective way of achieving this.
Putting together a good online PR strategy has many potential returns, including higher search engine positions resulting from the links that are built, an enhanced brand profile and sending more qualified traffic to your website.
So how do you put together a PR strategy that will achieve these goals? In today’s article, we will show you how any business can use online PR and see results for their website.
What is news?
(image: https://www.superdream.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Untitled-1.jpg alt: Example of a Superdream Press Release)
A common reason why companies may hit a hurdle when it comes to PR is in their interpretation of the question “what is news?”.
Some may think that their company or industry is not particularly newsworthy, while others may only release news that is only relevant to their company, such as winning a recent contract or reaching a particular landmark.
It can be very difficult to make the events around your company newsworthy in isolation, but whatever your company, there will be a way to tie your company in to wider events that are being reported on either in your industry, your local area, nationally or even internationally.
Here are a few ways in which you can make your company newsworthy in these areas:
### Industry news
If you win an industry award then this can be a great springboard to get additional coverage.
Rather than just sending out a press release saying that you won an award, go further by showing what it was that made you stand out from your peers and any previous winners. Did you employ a revolutionary new way of working? Did you achieve your success when the odds were stacked against you? Is there an exceptional individual involved with an inspiring story to tell?
All of these additional factors can help to bring an extra appeal to your story that will results in more coverage, boosting the appeal of your brand and building more links to your website in the process.
### Local news
Your company makes screws, there’s no way that you could possibly be newsworthy right? But look at your local news – is there increasing unemployment yet you are taking on additional staff? Does your company do charity work in the local community? Are you bucking the trend by taking on apprentices?
(image: https://www.superdream.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Untitled-2.jpg alt: Construction News press release example)
Your local news could also capture industry wide attention
Whatever your trade, however boring, if your company is doing something in the local community then it will be extremely newsworthy to local journalists.
### National and international
It may seem impossible for your company to break into the likes of the BBC and the national press, but there are two things that every journalist is always looking for; an authoritative voice and new research.
Take a look at what is currently newsworthy and see if any of these issues are relevant to your company. If they are, find the journalist involved and get in touch giving your company’s opinion. You might well find yourself quoted in any future articles, building you as an industry authority and sending valuable links to your website.
(image: https://www.superdream.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Untitled-3.jpg alt: BBC News article)
Data driven stories are regularly picked up by the BBC
Can you do a survey of your customers that might reveal some interesting or humorous information? Journalists love data driven stories that reveal previously unknown information, so if you can put together some of your own this can be a valuable commodity.
Writing a press release
Once you have your story, it is vital to present this to journalists in a way that it will be noticed and followed up on.
Here, our Copywriter (link: https://www.superdream.co.uk/who-we-are/clare-evens/ text: Clare Evans popup: true title: Clare Evans) explains how best to put together your press release.
Press releases are a journalist’s best friend.
They are ready-written pieces of content that can be quickly and easily formatted to fill a space in the next addition of a newspaper or magazine. If of course, they are written correctly. Journalists are a lazy breed, and want press releases to be print-ready. If they have to make any changes, chances are yours will end up on the scrap heap.
So how can you make sure your news release makes the cut? The secret is thinking like a reporter. Here is a fail-safe press release structure that helps you include all the key points, in the right places:
1. **Company logo and PR release date – **This tells the reporter who the release is from and whether they can publish right away, or if it is embargoed until a certain date. Make sure you include this or you may find information gets leaked before you’d planned it to.
2. **Headline – **A succinct but attention grabbing headline should explain the press release and encourage publication. Keep it brief though; you need to keep some air of mystery around the PR.
3. **Summary – **If submitting to online distributors, you will need to include a summary. This is a short (3-4 sentences) introduction, explaining what the press release is about.
4. **Opening statement – **Your introduction should set the tone of the release and grab attention. Explain what your release is about, why it is newsworthy, and what it means for everyone else. Remember: your release has to be news so emphasise why it is here.
5. **Quote – **Your quote is the meat in your press release sandwich. This should be from the relevant person in your company – MD, department manager, etc. – and offer something additional to the release.**Support points – **Build on your release with additional information and facts. Keep these short, sweet, and succinct. Add to the release and give the journalist additional information about your business.
6. **Call to action – **What do you want readers to do? Phone you, download something, make a purchase? Tell them in a catchy call-to-action. If using online press releases, add your link here.
7. **Notes to editors – **A ‘Notes to Editors’ section gives the journalist any additional information. This is all geared towards making their job as easy as possible, and getting your press release published. Put any further information about your company in here and link to any relevant content on your website. This may well be used in your story and could provide an extra valuable link.
Distribution
Once your press release has been compiled, you will need to send it out to the best journalists.
Put together media lists that contain different groups of journalists for industry, local and national stories. It is also worth trying to build a relationship with them in advance, so interact with them on Twitter or Facebook so you won’t be completely unheard of when you try and get them to use your story.
When it is done right, having an online PR strategy can provide enormous benefits to your (link: https://www.superdream.co.uk/digital/search-engine-optimisation-seo/ text: SEO, popup: true title: Search Engine Optimisation) website traffic and brand authority. No matter what your company does, there will be a way of making yourself newsworthy and getting your company in the public eye without spending a fortune.
Look for opportunities where your company can lend an authoritative voice, structure an attractive and web optimised press release and build a strong distribution list of journalists and you are on the right road to seeing a real benefit to your company’s public image, as well as the performance of your website.