Test Your Knowledge! True & False Exercise!

Try to answer these ten questions. The answers can be found by reading this blog!

1. The name of the journalist that came up with the idea of press releases is Ivy Lee 
2. The main body of a press release should be around 200-400 words 
3. A strength of publicity is that it's message is controllable 
4. Telling people what they will lose if they don't act on your offer can motivate them more then the benefits 
5. Straight advocacy is more persuasive than inquiry 
6. A press release is written like an email message 
7. A press release is aimed at getting the attention of the media in order to maximize the effect of the message an organization is trying to convey 
8. Press releases announce new things like company products, managers and facilities, community involvement, donations and awards
9. A press release should only serve the needs of the organization writing it 
10. When writing press releases, answers to the five Ws and one H should be included 

Answers: 1) T, 2) T, 3) F, 4) T, 5) F, 6) F, 7) T, 8) T, 9) F, 10) T

If you got perfect, congratulations!! If you didn't, try going over this blog again to improve your understanding

Play Fair and Be Ethical!

The aim of the business communicator is to sway peoples opinions, change peoples atitudes, and get them to act on your proposal. To reach that goal, business communicators sometimes exaggerate an opinion, misrepresent facts, or leave out something harmful to their argument but important. You must be very careful not to do any of these things when writing a press release, or else it will be considered unethical (Guffey, Rhodes, & Rogin, 2011, p. 280).

It is important to remember two important factors that are at stake when you engage in unethical writing:

1. Your reputation and credibility
2. Your opinion of yourself

When your writing is deceitful, it might get you the results you want in the short run. But eventually it will harm your reputation and credibility. People will find it hard to trust your writing again or trust you as a person. Whats most important though is your opinion of yourself. Sometimes, the psychological effects of lying can harm your self-image. That can negatively effect your atitudes and behaviours and you might find yourself confused about who you are.

Here is an interesting video about the 3 types of lies that you should avoid!

Have you ever caught someone lying? How did that make you feel? Was your trust in that person ruined? Please share your comments below!

Reference:

Guffey, M. E., Rhodes, K., & Rogin, P. (2011). Business Communication, Process and Product, Sixth Canadian Edition. Toronto: Nelson Education Ltd.

Why Press Releases?

I think that question can be answered by the people who first came up with the idea.

A Little History

The origins of the press release can be traced back to 1906, in Atlantic City, New Jersey. At that time there was a train wreck involving the Pennsylvania Railroad Service that killed 50 people. Terrified by the negative publicity the accident might receive in the press and hurt the company's reputation, the Pennsylvania Railroad Service collaborated with a young journalist that came up with a great idea.

With his help, Ivy Lee convinced the company to write their own version of the accident and submit it to the media before the media could come up with their own negative story. By doing this, the media had a ready story and the company had the chance to write their own version and maintain it's reputation. To read more click here.

Press releases are widely used today in the industry. Organizations either write their own press release by their marketing teams, or they hire an agency to do it for them. In the above example the press release written by Ivy Lee was published in the media as is, meaning the publisher did not change or revise the submitted story, which was fortunate. You have to keep in mind that your submitted material can be changed by the media. Once you submit it, you have no control over what gets published. But by submitting it, you can greatly influence what the media reports! And thats why press releases can be very effective.


Reference:

The Origin of the Press Release and Its Importance to Press Release Marketing. (2012, January 21). Retrieved from Press Release Monkey: http://www.pressreleasemonkey.com/the-origin-of-the-press-release-and-its-importance-to-press-release-marketing

What makes up a Press release?

Have you ever read a news article? If you regularly read them in your pastime, you will probably recognize the layout of a press release.

Layout of a Press Release

• Headline: This is meant to grab the readers attention! It should be brief, clever, and concise. But be careful not to exaggerate.

• Summary: Here you will summarize your press release in a short paragraph. If your headline didn't grab the readers attention, this should be your second opportunity! 

• Main Body: This is where you want to make your selling point, including all the information you want to communicate to the public. Even though it is the main body, it doesn't mean you can ramble on. Make your point in a reasonably efficient way, or the editor will throw it out. This part should be around 200-400 words. If it's to long, the reader will find something else to do.

• Contact Information: People who would like additional information would like to contact you. Provide your contact information here. If your press release is intended for a website, then make sure to include links back to your company website! 

Reference:

Press Release Principles . (2007). London, England.

It's all about Publicity

Press releases, press kits, editorials, stage events, press conferences and interviews are all public relation tools. The intent of theses tools, including press releases is to create positive publicity for a company. Marketers use these tools extensively to communicate with their target markets. In addition to public relations, marketers use other tools to communicate with and persuade their target markets like advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, and direct response.


But what separates public relations from these other methods is it's effectiveness and cost efficiency. Developing press releases in an attempt to generate positive publicity only cost a fraction of advertising. Unlike advertising, direct response, and personal selling, publicity is seen as a credible. A message printed by a third party, such as a newspaper, appears to the audience as non-biased and objective (Kerin, Hartley, Rudelius, Clements, & Skolnick, 2009, p. 233). Reading about a company's product in a newspaper tends to be more believable than an advertisement about it. 

Publicity Strengths

• Often the most credible source in consumers' mind
• Cost efficient

Publicity Weaknesses 

• Media coverage is not controllable
• Message is not controllable
• Difficult to evaluate (2009, p. 231)

When done right, publicity generated from press releases can be very effective and cost efficient. But once the press release has been submitted to a publishing company, your organization cannot control the amount of media coverage it gets or the ultimate message your trying to convey. Thats up to the publishing company! Thats why developing persuasive press releases is very important, as it will increase the press releases' chances of being effective.

Can you guess this publicity stunt??

Share your guesses in the comment section below!

Reference:

Kerin, R. A., Hartley, S. W., Rudelius, W., Clements, C., & Skolnick, H. (2009). The Core: Second Canadian Edition. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson.

Test Your Knowledge! Layout Exercise!

Here is an example of a press release from Google. It's purpose was to announce a new search device that Google offers.

Can you match the letters in the photo with the correct description below. Test your knowledge!

*Click on the image for a larger size*

(Guffey, Rhodes, & Rogin, 2011, p. 302)

1) ___ Makes optional photo available
2) ___ Uses pound symbols to signal end of release
3) ___ Provides optional headlines
4) ___ Emphasizes central selling points
5) ___ Places key information upfront
6) ___ Supplies means of obtaining additional information
7) ___ Relates to target audience with story and conversational language
8) ___ Shows key benefits in visually appealing, high-skim format
9) ___Opens with attention-getting lead packed with information

Answers: 1) G, 2) E, 3) A, 4) D/H, 5) B/F, 6) I, 7) C, 8) D/H, 9) B/F


Reference:

Guffey, M. E., Rhodes, K., & Rogin, P. (2011). Business Communication, Process and Product, Sixth Canadian Edition. Toronto: Nelson Education Ltd.

Consider this; Pre-Writing of a Press Release

Press releases need to be attractive to a news organization. These organizations will not publish your article if it does not appeal to their target market and their needs. Making the mistake of writing a press release that is too concentrated on your company's needs will not be effective. In order for TV producers, and newspaper, magazine, and website editors to publish your press release it needs to serve not only your needs, but the publishing organization as well. Here are some tips in making your press release attractive to the media:

• Open with an attention-getting lead or a summary of important facts.
• Include answers to the five Ws and one H, but not all in the first sentence
• Appeal to the audience of the target media
• Emphasize reader benefits written in the style of the focus publication or newscast
• Present the most important information early, followed by supporting information
• Make the release visually appealing. Limit the text to one or two double-spaced pages with attractive formatting
• Look and sound credible; no typos, no imaginative spelling or punctuation, no factual errors. (Guffey, Rhodes, & Rogin, 2011, p. 301-302)

The video below discribes how to use the Tomahawk Content Management System (CMS). Using a CMS can be very useful as it makes preparing a press release easier.

Reference:

Guffey, M. E., Rhodes, K., & Rogin, P. (2011). Business Communication, Process and Product, Sixth Canadian Edition. Toronto: Nelson Education Ltd.

Important lesson in Persuasion!

I found a really interesting video that talks about the power of inquiry. Watch this video below!

Have you ever been a victim of being persuaded into buying something you didn't want? Chance are you haven't. But why is that? With so much money being spent every year by big corporations trying to persuade you to buy products that otherwise you would have not boughten. Why would corporations continue to spend this money if it's not working? 

Persuasion is not about trying to make you buy something you don't want. It's about making you see and understand the benefits of a product. With this understanding, individuals are able to connect the benefits of a product with their personal needs. Without persuasion, people would not know that there are products out there that cater to their needs. By persuading, organizations are simply trying to help you get what you want.

Have you ever been a victim of a retail sales associate trying to sell you something you don't want? Overwhelming you with product features or services that you don't care for. This is something the video describes as straight advocacy. We've all experienced this sometime in our lives. 

Share your experiences in the comment section below!

How to make your Press Release Persuasive!

First, what is persuasion? 

Many people often relate techniques of persuasion to deception and trickery. But that's not the case! Although some people use persuasion unethically for personal reasons, true persuasion can benefit everyone involved.

Persuasion is all about effectively presenting information to others. Being persuasive means being able to make others see the benefits you are offering. By knowing all the facts, individuals might change their beliefs and actions. This is done without leaving out important facts, or exaggerating benefits, and misleading people to believing something thats not true. 

Being Persuasive!

Being persuasive involves many considerations. Mastering persuasion takes a lot of effort and time. Here are some important techniques to follow:

• Establish credibility: People must trust you in order for them to believe what you are telling them. If you have experience or credentials in the field, make that known. If you don't, make sure to include expert opinion, testimonials, and research to support your argument.

• Make reasonable, precise request: If your request is not reasonable, no one will accept it. Make sure what you are asking of people sounds reasonable and attainable. Asking people to donate money to send the first pig to the moon sounds ridiculous, and people will likely ignore your request. Also, tell people exactly what you want. When people know exactly what it is your asking makes it easier for them to make a decision. If your request is to vague, then people will often ignore it. 

• Tie facts to benefits: Don't just present the facts, make sure to let the reader know how those facts relate to the benefits you are offering. Presenting facts alone can overwhelm and confuse the audience, not knowing exactly how all the information relates to one another.

• Recognize the power of loss: Telling people what they will lose if they don't act on your offer can motivate people more than the benefits. Possible things people can lose is time, money, competitive advantage, profits, and reputation. 

• Expect and overcome resistance: It is normal to encounter resistance to your proposal from your audience. This is because people have conflicting beliefs, negative atitudes, apathy, skepticism, and opposing loyalties. An effective persuader is prepared to counter any opposition with well-reasoned arguments and facts. When writing a press release, a persuader should be able to recognize weaknesses in the proposed idea and possible resistance to it in advance, before submitting it to a publisher.

• Share solutions and compromise: Instead of inundating others with possible solutions to their problems, it is sometimes best to allow them to come up with their own solution. Listening to others and allowing them to be part of the solution greatly increases the chances of them accepting it. People know what they want, and it's best to allow them to express it. Engaging people in being part of the solution will make them more eager to implement it. 
  (Guffey, Rhodes, & Rogin, 2011, p. 274)
  
  
  
  

Reference:

Guffey, M. E., Rhodes, K., & Rogin, P. (2011). Business Communication, Process and Product, Sixth    Canadian Edition. Toronto: Nelson Education Ltd.

What do Press Releases look like?

Press releases look like news articles, because thats what they intend to be. A press release is developed and written by an organization. They are usually about something new and noteworthy about that organization, like new products, managers and facilities, community involvement, donations and awards (Guffey, Rhodes, & Rogin, 2011, p. 301). They can also be about anything a company wishes to announce and make known to the public.

--------------->>Click here to see this example!<<-------------

In the above example, Sony announces one of its new and upcoming products. In targeting its market, Sony sent this press release to the editors of a tech-website, who decided to publish it. The article includes product features and services, photos of the product, commentary from the CEO of Sony, the price of the product and how you can order it. More examples of press releases can be found on the right side bar above named Business Press Releases.


Reference:

Guffey, M. E., Rhodes, K., & Rogin, P. (2011). Business Communication, Process and Product, Sixth Canadian Edition. Toronto: Nelson Education Ltd.