By Janet Blackwell - 2010-02-20

An online press release defies the traditional concept of a press release. Your web site is on view 24/7 and you want visitors to find it. An online press release helps your web site get found on the Internet. It doesn’t even matter if the media finds it because a search engine will.

Most people don’t think of a press release as a marketing tool, but it is. They are a lot less expensive than Google ads and the results last much longer.

An online press release isn’t like a traditional press release. It has many additional benefits, including:

- Ability to add links to related web pages
- Add graphics like a logo, chart, or graph.
- Embedded and/or attach files to the press release including a video, PDF documents, audio files, or podcasts
- Share the news with social bookmarking tools and features (web sites like Delicious, Digg, or StumbledUpon)
- Share the news on social networking web sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

Why send out a press release? Announce something going on in your business or industry. Give tips or information. Give your perspective on current events that relate to your business. Prove your expertise and announce events. There are many things that are worth sending out a press release about.

American Airlines sends out stories that are simply tips or “how to,” like how to prepare for holiday travel. They use “you” and “yours” and talk directly to the traveler. Businesses of all sizes can do the same.

Your headline should make people want to click and perhaps even buy. Rather than going through the media, you are going direct to the customer.

Rather than sending out a press release to get covered by a journalist, there are other reasons.

- Reputation - fill up the search engines with good news. Displace negative news or stories. Build trust and familiarity with your audience.
- Branding - getting your name out to more people online. When people hear your name they search online for more information.
- News - what is happening in our business. - Sales or leads.
- Traffic to get more people to visit your website.
- Visibility so people know you are.

Before you needed the media to tell your story or you had to pay for ads. Now you can tell your customers directly. There are more audiences. Your social networking “friends” bloggers, etc.

The results may take longer to build but they build over time, sending people to your business long after the news is old.

The aim of a press release is to ensure you get noticed. Getting noticed means you get clicked on, getting clicked on means there is a very good possibility you may be able to convert the click in to a potential client. It is now a chain of events that leads to good things for your business.

Copyright © Janet Blackwell 2010-02-20
Need a press release book? I Need a Killer Press Release, Now What? A Guide to Online PR can help. The companion DVD Killer Press Releases shows you how step-by-step. Find both at OnlinePRBook

Contributed by JD at 6:33 am under Marketing & PR.