How to Write a Social Media Press Release

The online social media community presents massive potential for any marketers and advertisers looking to promote products, services and events. However, many businesses fail to fully exploit this potential because they are sending out the typical, traditional press releases, which disappear into cyberspace without a trace. On the other hand, a press release that is specifically tailored for the social media can reap impressive results. Read on to learn how to write a social media press release

Instructions

1. Be Informal. The traditional-style press release is typically quite rigid, sporting a formal title and formal announcement structure. This type of format has little or no impact on a social media community. This is unsuited for the medium and the audience that you are targeting, as they will consider it boring and pay it scant attention. In addition, any blatant self-promotion will be considered to be "spam" - unsolicited, indiscriminate advertising - and will garner a negative response.

2. Grab attention. The headline of your press release is the single most important feature to grab and hold attention. Your heading must provide a hook that will provoke the reader's interest and draw them into reading the body of the press release. Make your titles short, because the online reader's attention span is especially short. You have, at most, two seconds or less to engage the reader's attention – make the most of each precious second! Another essential aspect to take into account when writing your heading is search engine optimization (SEO). This means that you have to include relevant keywords in the heading.

3. Get your focus right. Every social community is all about its users. Users are the single, most valued and valuable focus of these communities, and everything that you do to promote yourself must have those users in mind. Whether it is announcing a product, achievement or event, it will only make an impact if it is presented in terms of its specific relevance to the users.

4. Use the right language. A press release that is peppered with industry jargon or marketing speak can only do well if you are targeting your own industry – in the social media context, it is very likely to be perceived as boring and, even worse, untrustworthy. Write your press release in friendly, interesting and accessible language.

5. Create value. The most powerful way to create a buzz around your press release, and to get people bookmarking and flagging it and sending it to friends, is to write it so that there is something of great value for them. Creating value for your readers in your press release will engage their interest and fuel its spread across the social media community. One way to create value is to use a "how to" angle or to present insider industry information.

6. Keep it brief and to the point. Structure your press release to pass the scan test. An online reader will typically scan an article or release using its heading, subheading and captions before actually reading it - if it catches their interest. Use attention-grabbing words and phrases in your headlines and subheadings. Make use of pictures, graphics and captions, as well as bold and underlined text. This makes it easy to scan your article, while drawing the reader in to read the entire press release.