Using On-line Press Releases to Promote Your Personal Brand
by Vince Rogers
What if you did something that was really important. Something that people actually needed to know about. How would you get the word out?
These days, social media sites are flooded with self promoters posting links, “tweeting tweets” and sharing stories about their various accomplishments. Many of these stories may be entertaining, but they aren’t really newsworthy. On top of that, the news cycle for social media can only be a few minutes and reach only a relatively small amount of people. Most of the people who do see it are usually people who you already know. They would probably find out about your great news anyway.
So how do you get your message across to a broad audience of people who can truly benefit from the information?
Sometimes to really get your message "out there", you may have to resort to using tried and true media sources. However, unless you are already a well known celebrity or prominent organization, finding newspapers, magazines, and radio or television stations that will cover your great “news” may be an uphill battle. On the other hand, with the emerging popularity of “new media”, bloggers and the aforementioned social media options, traditional media outlets are also under some pressure to find fresh news ideas. As a tactic for building your personal brand, a powerful way to gain media attention for your story is to issue an online press release.
Online press release services such as PRLog; PRweb and i-Newswire offer various free and paid distribution packages. These platforms make it easy for Public Relations non-professionals to create professional looking press releases. If you think your news is of a higher level and you have expectations that it will raise your profile significantly, you may want to hire a professional to create and distribute your press release. However, with either route you take, there is no guarantee that your press release will be picked up by the media.
The most essential factor in determining if your press release is picked up by the media is whether it truly lives up to the most narrowly defined definition of “news”. Sometimes determining what is news and what is not can be a very “grey area”. For instance, announcing a sale at your store is not news. However, announcing that you will give away a new car to a selected shopper during a sale at your store is news. Examples of other possible newsworthy events are as follows:
- Introducing New Product or Service Offerings
- Top Management Promotion or Retirement Announcements
- Getting Published in a Prestigious Publication
- New Plant or Retail Outlet Openings or Closings
- Sponsorship or Hosting of Charity Events or Fundraisers
Now here’s the bad news. Even when the information is truly newsworthy your press release still may not get picked up. Now here’s the good news. Issuing press releases can help you build your brand in other ways. The circulation of the press release can enhance your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) which is a measure of the effectiveness and reach of your online presence. Also, your press release may be read by other audiences such as organizations looking for an expert speaker, or a potential new client or employer. Press releases may be a tool from the “Stone Age”, but they are still a powerful tool that can be used to build your personal brand today.
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Vince Rogers is the Principal Change Agent at Vince Rogers & Associates
Vince Rogers and Associates works with businesses, non-profits and high achieving individuals to formulate winning "Success Plans" for reaching their desired destinations.
Essentially they help for-profit and non-profit enterprises optimize their productivity by strategically managing their financial and non-financial resources.
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