Press releases are an excellent marketing tool for both online and offline advertising campaigns. A press release is something that any business (large or small), in any industry, can take advantage of to generate interest in, and awareness of:

a company's business (new start-up, change in management, moving locations, new operations),
specials (sales, promotions, new/existing customer offers),
events (past, current, upcoming),
product lines (new or existing),
services offered (new or existing),
and participation or involvement with the community.

More often than not, press releases are free, with exception to the time to create and distribute.

The Benefits of Using Press Releases

There are three main benefits to using press releases as a standard in marketing:

Regularly submitting press releases increases the awareness of a business, and its presence in the community and industry.

Not all press releases are picked up and reported in the local news or papers. However, by regularly submitting press releases, a company is increasing the number of times that news reporters, and other media, view the company's name and related marketing materials. This improves the likelihood of having a press release noticed and acted upon.
Submitting press releases on a regular basis also helps to increase search engine ranking via increased link popularity.

One of the criteria that Google uses in determining the rank of a website in search results is, "how many other websites link to 'website A'?" The more websites of relevant nature that link to "website A", the better ranking "website A" will have in Google's search results.
Social media plays a TREMENDOUS roll in news "going viral".

The "viral effect" is when a social media post is noticed by a few people that repost it. This effect compounds as others repost again and again, growing exponentially. This is where the viral effect comes into play:

Suddenly a post that was only noticed by a few has gone "viral" and hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people view the post.

What to Write About For a Press Release

The news media is always looking for newsworthy content to report. A Press Release is a free way to tell the media, and the world, about:

a company,
a website,
a new product
or service,
specials,
or events.

By tying together a story about the company or product to an upcoming holiday, major news, or current event; a press release can be considered newsworthy, and thus more likely to be picked up by the mainstream media for reporting.

There are many instances of a press release on a small business turning into a national news event for the company. Often local news stories are picked up by the national media.

In turn, these stories may be posted on the national news website for thousands more to see. Even better yet, the press release may be reported during the national nightly or morning news!

How to Write & Format a Press Release

The key to writing a good press release is to keep it:

short,
simple,
catchy,
relevant,
and newsworthy.

Generally, to catch media attention (or anybody for that matter), a press release must have a catchy title.

A Press Release, generally, is a few paragraphs describing to the media in a newsworthy manner:

the business,
specials,
events,
products,
services,
or community & industry involvement.

While a press release is a form of marketing, the press release should NOT read, nor look like an advertisement or brochure. Instead, a press release should give the following information like a news story:

Who is the press release about?
What is the purpose of the press release?
Where is the location?
When is the event, promotion, etc happening?
Why should the this be reported on?
How does one participate?

The format of the press release should be similar to the following:

NEWS RELEASE

{COMPANY LETTERHEAD & LOGO}

{DATE}

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Title/Headline

Subheadline

CITY, STATE - First paragraph of text addressing the Who, What, Where, When, Why & How of the event or topic.

Additional paragraphs of text providing more details an supplemental information.

{Insert company information and contact as the final piece.}

- more - (Use to signal the release continues onto a second page)

- ####### - (Use to signal the end of the release)

How to Submit Press Releases

Distributing a press release is fairly simple in today's digital world.

Make sure to distribute the press release with plenty of time for the media to pick up on the release in time for any business event or product release.

Submitting a press release too late may result in the media missing the event.

There are many channels to physically distribute a press release. Channels range from paid services, to free websites & social media, to individually contacting newspapers, television stations, and magazines about the press release. Some free online services to distribute a press release are:

With today's social media frenzy, social media has become the fastest method of obtaining Word of Mouth advertising for practically free. Posting the press release (or at minimum a link to the press release) on all social media channels is imperative for getting the press release attention by others on social media.

If the press release catches just one person's attention, within minutes it can go viral and linked across the world to millions of people! The most important social media sites to be apart of are:

Some up and coming social media sites to consider as well are:

If the first press release does not generate much response, try again later:

re-word the article,
try from another point of view,
attempt to find a new or different benefit to report.

Remember to keep it newsworthy and professional.

Conclusion

By using press releases on a regular basis, a company can help increase market awareness in the community and industry of products, services, and related activities.

In turn a company can increase both local awareness, while also increasing website ranking in search engines; resulting in a higher return on website and marketing investments.