BLOG - Why a press release is about more than instant coverage

…it strengthens your awareness and reputation with journalists

Our experience shows that journalists scan most press releases at least briefly – as long as the title is relevant and the source is trusted. And a few seconds of absorbing key messages is enough to adjust their perception of your organisation.

This way, you gradually tick more boxes in the media's mind when it comes to your reputation. Like 'innovative', for example when you launch a new service. Or 'socially responsible': major CSR achievements are examples of press releases we sometimes purposefully send out without high coverage expectations. Or others, like 'partnership value' (major client renews contract), 'solid' (25th anniversary) or simply 'on a roll' (strong annual results).

…the coverage effect sometimes comes later…

"I've been following your press releases about client X for a while, but never really had a hook to write about it. But I'm now working on a piece about this topic and I'd love to hear more about…"

As a PR agency, we hear this more often than you'd think – for instance from the journalist at VRT NWS who ended up writing this piece about our client BNIX.

This is proof that in PR you don't hit the mark with random shots, but with strategically nurtured media relationships – in part thanks to those press releases that journalists couldn't do much with at the time.

…or as part of broader news

For that reason, we recently advised our client Energie.be to send out a press release about the renewal of their 'free electricity on Sunday' initiative. Not newsworthy enough on its own, but we knew that many media outlets were working on broader stories about the impact of the energy crisis on consumers and businesses.

And we love it when a plan comes together: media like Trends, Business AM and Het Laatste Nieuws picked up the news as part of bigger energy stories.

Watch out: don't spam

Don't read this as an encouragement to bombard the media with non-news. Sending out a press release without strong publication value is fine from time to time. But don't do it too frequently – or worse, with totally irrelevant content.

Because at that point you're simply spamming, which damages your reputation with the media rather than strenghten it.

Walking the PR tightrope

Should you send out a press release about topic X or not? Or is it better to send an informal heads-up to specific media contacts? A tightrope you have to walk both on a case-by-case basis and within your overarching PR strategy.

Advising you on this – and managing expectations along the way – is one of the ways we, as a strategic PR agency, take your media visibility to the next level. We do this for both your corporate and consumer communications, in Belgium, the Netherlands, or across the entire Benelux region.

Ready to professionalise your public relations together?