*** The Value Of Press Releases

Press releases can have significant value. Depending on the type of press release, the value can differ.

The different types of press releases include announcements, spots, reaction stories, bad news, and local 'hometown' releases.

An announcement can include a public service announcement, sales, business earnings, new products, etc.

A spot announcement usually contains an on-the-spot-message like a flood or a storm. This message is going to go out to the public on the spot.

A reaction story can include a gunman in a local neighborhood or a school. This would cause the school to go into lockdown. A reaction story is a story that will cause a group of people to react.

Bad-news releases are common today because it looks bad for a company to try to cover up information if something bad is happening. So they will create a news release and tell the public about the bad event so that there are no surprises. This helps to prevent or put a stop to negative talk about hiding information.

The last type of press release mentioned, which isn't used enough, is the local or the hometown release. Newspapers love information about what is happening locally and if the press release is written properly, it has a great chance of being used.

The purpose of using any of these releases is to create awareness about what is going on. Press releases can be sent to radio, television, newspapers, essentially all media outlets.

Press releases save on the costs of advertising and if a newspaper uses the press release, the press release will hit a large audience.

Another reason press releases are better than advertising is because of the fact that the credibility of 'news' is higher than that of advertising with the consumer.

Whether the news is good or bad, the value of a press release is insurmountable; saving money on advertising, notifying the public about events, disasters, new products, saving a company from scandal, or just letting folks know what is new with you and your business and keeping on the top of their minds.

To your success!