DSM PR MASTERCLASS: Deep South Media has launched PR Masterclasses with sessions on Zoom over a series of dates. The first is called ‘Learn the secrets of media relations success’
My engineering business has won a £500,000 contract to supply engine components to a motor yacht manufacturer. I’ll get my office assistant, who passed English GCSE with flying colours back in the day, to knock a press release out. After all, it’s easy, right?
Well done on the contract – wow!
Of course, asking a member of staff to write a market announcement press release for your company makes initial sense – they are on hand, can be easily briefed and it is free because you don’t have to pay a consultant.
But – and it’s a yacht-sized BUT – you are being penny wise and pound foolish in that rash decision.
Press releases have a vital role to play in content marketing and therefore shouldn’t be left to chance if you wish the content to reflect the professionalism of your company.
Delete button
A botched press release which is littered with grammatical errors and non-sequiturs, and full to the literary gunwales with needless adjectives such as “delighted”, “brilliant”, “market-leading” and “we are the best at what we do”, are only likely to provoke the ire of cynical newsdesks.
The media’s response to that finally crafted press release, which took four working days of your colleague’s time up as they agonised over every word and sentence because he/she understandably didn’t want to let the boss down, is to hit the DELETE button.
No valuable editorial coverage in the trade media, or the regional media, or hyperlocal media, or, if there was something especially newsworthy about the engine components, in the national media.
What a waste of time, resources and opportunity. As for being “free”, well, it wasn’t because delegating to a member of staff was a false economy. Those four working days would have been spent doing what the office assistant was contracted to do, including making sure the moving parts of the business are oiled.
Train first
In short, the money which would have been saved on paying a consultancy such as Deep South Media was lost in unnecessary inefficiencies and work backlogs as the office assistant, through no fault of their own, lost sight of the day job.
Just because someone is good at writing (perhaps based on the odd criteria of how well they write emails), and was therefore the most likely employee to get the job done, is no reason to task someone with writing a press release.
It would be like asking someone who passed their Maths GCSE to calculate angles for a milling machine to precision-craft a cutting tool such as a slitting saw.
You wouldn’t do it. You need to be trained first.
Worse, the person who wrote that press release may feel (wrongly) that they are a failure because what they spent so much time on didn’t see the light of day in the press.
Perils of pitching
To add to the humiliation, the office assistant felt sick at the thought of pitching the press release to journalists because they didn’t know what to say on the phone or by email or through other platforms.
When they did, as a nervous wreck, words failed, and all they could say was this: “Um, sorry to trouble you, um, I was wondering if you, er, have seen my press release? I sent it an hour ago.”
Reporter (terse): “We get hundreds a day. Which email address did you send it to? What’s it about? Is it local?”
Office assistant (voice brightening up): “Well, thank you, it’s about my boss’s company, which has, er won a contract to make engine parts for another company.”
Reporter (strident voice): “Can you be more specific please? Where’s your company based?”
Office assistant (voice still bright with hope): “Well, we are, um, based in Southampton. It’s for a customer in Grimsby.”
Reporter (sighing irritably): “Yeah, but this is the daily newspaper in Brighton? It’s not relevant. Goodbye.”
Office assistant (voice tremulous, talking to what is now a dead phone line): “Oh, I didn’t realise. Sorry.”
Office assistant goes to the office break-out area for a cuppa to restore shot nerves. The boss is there…
Boss (confident voice): “Bet there’s a lot of interest in our press release.”
Office assistant (voice quavering): “No, er, it’s proving difficult to get any interest.”
Boss (voice, with an edge to it): “Surely the press would be interested in running an article about a major contract win? I don’t understand.”
Office assistant (voice close to tears, longing to get back to contractual duties): “Nor do I.”
Please don’t inflict that kind of potential emotional pain on colleagues if they are not trained in how to write press releases.
It’s worth bearing in mind that writing effective press releases takes years to develop by content practitioners.
Indeed, many marketing professionals at larger companies outsource press releases to agencies such as Deep South Media because of the particular skill set required. Marketing professionals who know how to write and how to market their employers’ products, services or processes. That, in itself, is telling. Pity, then, the employee who has no experience of marketing or media relations and is selected for press release duty.
24/7 rolling news
Part of that is knowing the media landscape and understanding the UK’s 24/7 rolling news culture – and the best timing or theme for your press release. And the nuances. And attribution. And direct quotes. And catchy headlines. And ensuring accuracy. And writing in journalese. And having an eye-catching photograph, graphic or video to accompany the press release. And many other aspects of storytelling, including pre-requisite newsworthiness. And angles. And organic SEO. And closing off key questions. And geographical and sector relevance. And…
It is a skill that, frankly, takes years to develop. As a rule of thumb, up to 90% of press release submissions each day are deleted by newsdesks because they are not fit for purpose. Just think about the sheer amount of money wasted by companies on this – the same companies ironically wanting to save money by enlisting a member of staff to write the press release even though they don’t actually know what they are meant to be doing.
Here at Deep South Media, our long-serving team of former business editors, news editors, editors and national news agency reporters research, draft and issue high quality, accurate press releases for scores of companies and organisations. To date, Deep South Media’s editorial content has generated more than £10 million in verifiable returns on investment for clients.
Repurposing content
We also repurpose the published content to their social media platforms and websites, to help with search engine visibility and amplify branding. Or the content can be uploaded by in-house marketing teams, who are always grateful because the content hits the spot, with the right tone of voice.
Congratulations again on that £500,000 contract win. And, no, don’t delegate the task to someone who doesn’t know what they are doing, just because they appear good at writing. Speak to experts instead so you and your team focus on what your business does best and you don’t inadvertently set up an ill-equipped colleague for failure.
How to get in touch
If your company is looking for external content creation support, Deep South Media’s MD, Ron Wain, is available for a friendly, no-obligation chat.
You can contact Ron via DM on his LinkedIn, or email info@deepsouthmedia.co.uk. If you prefer, please contact Ron on 01202 534487.
Looking for training on how to write effective press releases for your employer? Please visit https://www.deepsouthmedia.co.uk/services/training/
