People take in a LOT of information these days. Think of how many different images and words you are exposed to in a day – from magazines to web banner ads to text messages, everybody’s got something to say. To keep from being overloaded by these messages, many times we will “tune them out�, especially if it is a message we feel we have identified previously.

Bearing that in mind, when it comes to Press Releases, you are essentially competing with a lot of different messages in many forms. Since the ultimate goal is to get your release published or at least noticed, here are a few tips of how to leverage what you do have on your side to hopefully get some buzz generated.

1. Get to the point – quickly. Make your point in the quickest, clearest way. Boil down the information to its essentials, and then arrange it so it makes sense. A press release is not the place for clever or flowery language, unless you have the rare skill of writing with brevity and wit. Save the commentary, opinions and clever observations for your blog – like I am!

2. Avoid Jargon. You know what you mean, and I may know what you mean, but the general public may not. A large part of boiling things down means to put them in terms that most will easily understand. Using confusing jargon is an easy way to lose a reader. Many people have access to and read press releases that have not been filtered by the media. Keep this in mind.

3. Make it Timely. Modern culture moves at the speed of light. What’s interesting to a reader one day will change the next. Keep your releases as current as possible. A good way to get into this habit is to write press releases on a consistent basis, even if you don’t feel like it is news. You never know what will be published, and this will keep you in the practice of completing releases in a timely manner.

4. The Web is your friend. The Web is not only your friend; it’s the dependable friend that you can call for a ride home. Most everyone uses it on a near-daily basis, space is unlimited, and many times you can control the content. What a great tool! Leverage this as much as you can by writing releases that contain keyword-rich copy and placing links in releases to deliver potential customers to landing pages on your Web site. Another idea to consider is adding social media tags to the release, such as DIGG, del.icio.us, and Technorati, to enable your release to be found easier on the web.

So in short: get to the point, make it clear, make it timely and leverage the web.

Good luck!

posted by K. Viles 1-12-08

The question is not “Is print dead?�

Steven Heller got bummed out about more folks reading news online, not in print. But when I checked this out at Editorandpublisher.com, I found that, at least in mid-2006, more people were reading news online, but spending less time online than they did with a newspaper, TV or radio.

Just an aside, since its existence, TV has trumped print.

What combination of print and digital marketing is most effective?� is the question. And the answer is different for everyone.\r\n\r\nThe fact is, an integrated marketing strategy is essential. Print and online efforts must both be used in order to mirror how modern people live modern life. These efforts must find people in the right places, as well as be in the right form, to get a response.

According to a Deloitte survey , “…People across all generations are using multiple channels – traditional and online media – to source the information they want or need,”

People still have strong connections to newspaper reading in their favorite armchair, clipping coupons for local stores. Kids read kid’s books. Professionals hand out business cards more than they scratch their 411 on napkins. And product packaging wraps the consumer in an experience unparalleled by anything online.

As long as we’re human, and as long and we have our senses, we will emotionally respond to the tactile.

That said, online can cover a limitless space and strengthen the reach of the product’s reputation. But increasingly, it had better be surprising and new, and preferably integrated into a tool for research, information, news or social networking. Or be a funny video.

We’re talking about two animals here. Both can benefit from working in tandem, and neither one is going away.

I was once at a lecture given by Bridget DeSocio of the design studio SocioX . At the conclusion, she was asked “Is print dead?� to which she replied, “When I eat pixels for breakfast, print will be dead.� Inspired, I went up afterwards, thanked Bridget and asked for a job. Got it.

posted by M. Wamsganz 1-15-08

I have been a fan of commercials for as long as I’ve been watching television. And ever since I have been working on the web I have been a big fan of commercials that direct users to a web-based experience. Nowwhat.com, or Taco Bells’ ‘fourthmeal.com’ are good examples. I am not in the market for insurance, or a late-nite taco meal, but the commercials did their job; I went to the site and checked out the experience.

\r\nWhile the amount of brand reinforcement had a negligible effect on me, I did like the sites. They were providing a fun and educational way to get to know more about their products. Cool. I get it.

Then I saw the commercial for WhopperFreakout.com. The commercial points out that people will ‘freak out’ if Burger King stopped selling the whopper. Why would they stop selling the whopper, you ask. It is, after all, the ‘Home of the Whopper’. It made me ask the same question. And while I didn’t exactly “freak out�, it did, I suppose, do what the commercial intended for me to do - make me think about the whopper sandwich. The people on ‘Whopper Freakout� did exactly what the commercial implies though. They freaked out! And it’s a pretty funny video… and they all seemed to ask the same question as I did. Why would you not have the Whopper when that is, basically, your brand. Again, that’s what they want to make us think about. The strength of the Whopper. It’s an unusual but effective way to get people to think about something they know so well they might take it for granted. And it has that viral quality BK’s ad team is famous for - not only in the online world of sharing the video, but in people ‘buzzing’ about BK’s marketing technique.

While the amount of brand reinforcement had a negligible effect on me, I did like the sites. They were providing a fun and educational way to get to know more about their products. Cool. I get it.

posted by M. Nedell 12-19-07