In this video, we're going to talk about press release basics. You will have an opportunity to practice writing a press release and to receive feedback. I would encourage you to seek out press releases online from different industry sectors and read and analyze them. Most companies have a press room or a newsroom. So just do some searching. I'm going to show you some examples here. But read more, it's always good to see different styles and how brands frame their company's news. I would be remiss if I did not again, remind you of journalists' news values. Say that five times fast, journalists news values, journalists news values. Timeliness is one of them. Events that have only just happened our current, ongoing, or about to happen is newsworthy. Proximity or familiarity to do with people or places close to the target audience or within geographical or cultural proximity. Conflict is the opposition of people or forces resulting in a dramatic effect. You've maybe heard the adage, if it bleeds it leads. That's the idea that the media loves sensational stories. Unexpectedness, events that are out of the ordinary, unexpected or novel, or more newsworthy than routine events, relevance or meaningfulness. This relates to the sense of identification the audience has with the topic. The more journalistic value is our news checks off, the more appealing it will be to journalists. Remember, we are wanting to tell our brand story to the journalist's audience. The journalist is the gatekeeper. We need to pitch a story that the gatekeeper will open the gate for, and that means the story is newsworthy to the audience. Next, make sure what you have is actually news. Sometimes journalists get annoyed with PR practitioners, and that's because they don't pitch newsworthy news. We need to ask, who cares about this news? If the answer is my company's employees, then maybe that's not something you'd want to pitch to a national or even regional news outlet. What's the value of the news you want to share with the audience? Can a journalist easily see that value? We are the storytellers and so how we tell the story is up to us. Of course, we're trying to get through the gate and so first we should think about the journalist's audience and what story is relevant and newsworthy. What is the objective you want to achieve with the press release? This will help you frame the story you are telling. There are always multiple ways to tell a story. Explore those as you begin writing your own press release. Let's go through the different components of the press release. These are standard to any press release. Sometimes you'll hear the term news release and often used interchangeably with the press release. Each brand or organization has its own style in writing a press release. What I mean by that is there might be a preferred font or font size or a certain way, but the dateline is written. If this is not established in your organization, I would suggest setting up a style guide. This is important to branding. Your press release should include an interesting headline. You want to draw the journalist into your story. Take a look at news headlines. There is an art to writing a strong headline. In PR, we want to be newsy while also remembering that we are in the business of promotion. It's a fine balance that will come only with practice. The first paragraph is the most important paragraph. You'll want to give all of the important details in that first paragraph. This is called the lead, and this paragraph summarizes the main ideas of the press release. The body is just supporting information. If the reader stopped reading after the lead paragraph, they'd have the jest of the story. The same is true with a new story written by a journalist. We are trying to mimic that style. So our press release is written like a news story. The body should be three to four paragraphs total, including the boilerplate. You want to stick to one page unless whatever you are pitching is more complex. You want to include at least one quote in your press release. As the PR practitioner, it's acceptable for you to craft the quote and then gain permission from whoever you are crediting it to. Depending on the quote, you might want to source the precedent or founder, or the chief marketing officer, or the regional development director, just depends on what makes sense for your story and the news that you are telling. I like to use quotes as a type of transition. You just announced the details in the first paragraph and the CEO or CFO or CMO, whoever, needs to come in and say something smart. Something that adds value to the piece. You don't want to write about their excitement. Roll your eyes with me. That's not valuable. You want to ensure that your CEO or CFO or CMO, is seen as the thought leader. So craft a quote that resonates with the brand's mission. Use the quote to a transition to the remaining supporting information. Remember, you are telling the story. It's your responsibility to lead the reader along the story and to ensure that we understand and follow the storyline, but that we don't wander or lose interest. Make sure to tell a good story and never leave the audience aside. Lead us through. You are the writer. The master storyteller. This is the inverted pyramid which is used by journalists to show how information should be prioritized and structured in a news story. The widest part represents the most substantial or interesting information. This information should lead the article, while then tapering facts of diminishing importance leader in the article. The inverted pyramid is a type of news writing used most commonly in the United States. Journalists began news stories with the hook and so PR practitioners want to mimic this style in their writing. This format is valued because readers can leave the story after the first paragraph and still understand it even without the details. This format also leads readers through all of the details of the story by the end. The boilerplate is a summary paragraph that goes at the very end of the press release, followed by three hashtags. First, a boilerplate summarizes your company's mission and purpose. Sometimes gives the history or how the company was founded. What makes the brand different from competitors, a call to action, and also includes a contact information like website or a phone number. The three hashtags at the end of a press release indicate that's the end. When fax machines were used, this would indicate that no further information was included. The fax was ending. Many times, PR practitioners continue to include these three hashtags as a tradition. This is just a way to say the end. Now, let's look at some different examples of different press releases from various brands and industries. If you work in a large corporation doing corporate communication, most likely there will be style guidelines. These are guidelines to abide by when creating content. Style guidelines are part of the branding process to ensure consistency. These guidelines might be font, font size, or inclusion of bullets, for example, or a certain style in the dateline. You might work somewhere that does not have style guidelines. That might be something to consider creating and putting into action. Of course, make sure you talk to your manager and those in marketing to ensure you are not stepping on any toes. All of it matters and impacts how the brand is perceived. First let's look at Starbucks. This is a recent press release back in 2020, but it's about the strawless lids. I just wanted to show you the headline. Keep that in mind. It's very newsy, something that a news outlet could use without even revising it. You might do a quick Google news search, to see how this press release was actually picked up and then used in the news. That might be a great exercise for you to see how a press release is sent out by a company and then is used by actual journalists and media. As part of the company's efforts to phase out plastic straws worldwide, that's called the subheading. A lot of times we include those. We don't have to include them but it's just another opportunity for more storytelling and to frame that story. Notice the first paragraph is the lead paragraph. Sometimes in journalism this is called the nut graf, and that just simply means we're using the inverted pyramid and we are giving those details right in that first paragraph. Notice too this press release also includes a quote, and the quote is from the chief sustainability officer at Starbucks, which makes total sense given the news that's being shared here. Now, let's look at another one. Now let's look at the Ford press release. Ford's press release, the one I've chosen for us to look at, is about the new Ford Bronco, and of course, they're relaunching this Ford Bronco. Notice the headline. Then I'm going to scroll down so that y'all can get a sense of the format and all I want to show you here is the format of the press release. So make note of the lead paragraph or the nut graph, if you will. Notice the quote given by the chief operating officer. Now, switching industries quite dramatically. Let's look at a press release from my own university. This is a press release that my college sent out about our founding dean and so again, look at the headline. Then as we scroll down we see the nut graph and then we see the next paragraph is a quote and this quote is from the provost, a very important actor on a university campus. Lastly, let's check out a hospital press release about the vaccine. So this is a children's hospital and Colorado located in Denver and so this press release is about the vaccine. So notice again the headline and then as I scroll down, you can see the lead paragraph. You can also see the quote and the quote is by the chief medical officer, which makes sense again, given the news that is being told. Now, I hope you'll go out and Google some of those press releases and just look at the format and the way that these brands are writing the press release, while they're all slightly different, the format of all of them is very similar. I would encourage you to read press releases from different brands that use different frames to tell their story. I'd also encourage you to do a Google News search to see how these press releases played out in the news. So as an example, Google News search, Starbucks draw lists leads. See what the headlines are and what publication outlets pick the story up, who was quoted in the article? Are the news stories reflective of the frame used by Starbucks in the press release? What about the quote? Is it the same or did they choose a different one than what was used in the press release? Some other tips for you are here on this slide. Make sure everything is grammatically correct. The press release, the media kit, the e-mail communication with journalists. Remember, these people are masters of the words methane. They are paid to be experts in grammar, so do not disappoint them or give them a reason to discredit you, make sure everything is grammatically perfect. Next, you want to use the Associated Press Style. This is the way journalists, right? It's a type of style and format. I would encourage you to pick up an Associated Press style book, keep it by your desk. You'll learn over time. One of the most difficult things about mastering AP style is finding it in the reference book, but you'll learn it's a process. But being able to think as journalists, write like journalists, tell stories like journalists, that makes us good at our job and at conducting public relations. Your press release should be one page including the boilerplate. So be concise, get to the point. When applicable you'll want to include access to additional information that could be high-resolution photography or video news release, or B roll, whatever it is, make sure to make mention of it when communicating with the journalist. We are writing the press release to communicate some news about our company. We have chosen a particular journalist to pitch because his audience is our target audience. We need to get through the gatekeeper and so here are some more tips. Your press release should have a strong hook and be written in the inverted pyramid style with a strong hook. Should I say it again? You need a strong hook. You want to include the five W's and how in the lead paragraph. The press release should be relevant and interesting, but also be well-written and free of any grammatical errors. You want to avoid using, I'm excited to announce or I'm thrilled that journalists would never write that. So neither should you. Don't rhyme or use cliches or ponds. You want to write like a journalist and the more journalism you consume, the better writer you will be. Make sure to get to know the journalist and cultivate a relationship with them because we are about mutually beneficial relationships. You want to be of service to the journalist.
