The 2009 Press Release: The good, the bad and the ugly, in 2 hours or less

I recently wrote an article for ZDNet outlining the reasons to update your press releases to include easy to access multimedia and supporting information.
Here is an excerpt from this article, outlining the must-haves of today’s press release.   Once you have this format down, you can start tracking link traffic, see what information resonated with your audiences and what information did not.  Use this information to craft future messages

1. Write a clear, succinct press release and gather your supporting assets including:
   1. High and low resolution (print and web quality) images
      1. Product photos
      2. Screen shots
      3. Print ads
      4. Company logo
      5. Company management photos
   2. Video
      1. Demo/training videos
      2. Product video
      3. Tradeshow video
      4. Viral videos
      5. Commercials
   3. Documents
      1. Legal documents
      2. Product specs
      3. Marketing materials
      4. Company overview
      5. Executive bios
   4. Articles
      1. Links to articles on the web that support your product and your position
2. Create a corporate account on the following highly optimized, free websites.  Fill out your profile, upload your logo as your image and add in your website and email address when possible:
   1. Photobucket – image hosting
   2. Flickr – image and short video hosting
   3. YouTube – video hosting
   4. Docstoc – document hosting
   5. Delicious – article links
   6. And these are just five examples of traffic driving sites
3. Populate your accounts
   1. Upload all your supporting materials. Name and tag each asset clearly.
   2. Tags are a great way to increase your visibility in search results so include as many as you can.
4. Update the press release section of your website with links to all of the above locations.
5. Include this information in your press releases Add this in right before the “ABOUT US” company boilerplate.
   1. Downloadable, print quality photos available here: LINK TO YOUR PHOTOBUCKET AND FLICKR
   2. Videos available here: LINK TO YOUR YOUTUBE PAGE
   3. Supporting materials and product specs available here: LINK TO YOUR DOCSTOC PAGE
   4. To view additional relevant articles, click here: LINK TO YOUR DELICIOUS PAGE
6. Track your successes: Within a few days you should see these sites appearing in your search results
7. Psst!  Tip!  Maintain your asset sites: Update materials and continue to add new elements

Follow these steps for a fast, easy way to increase both make it easier for reporters to access the news they need to write a well-rounded stories as well as interactions between your readers and your releases – in 2 hours or less!

Related posts:

• What would be the best way to guerrilla market a videography company targeting future brides?
• What are some of the social media trends that are being implemented in higher education?
• Lessons Learned: How to create social media content
• How to Use Social Media to Find Prospects…. Or Sell a House…
• Lessons Learned: Write an Editorial Calendar

Tagged as: 2009 press release, business wire, delicious, docstoc, flickr, how to write a press release, how to write a social media press release, interactive press release, internet startup, marketwire, multimedia, newswire services, PR for startups, pr newswire, press release, seo, serena ehrlich, Social Media, social media press release, startup army, youtube, ZDnet