A Press Release is Beneficial to Consumers and Businesses Alike
If you have read a story about a company, either in your local paper or online, and it seemed like a journalistic piece but it seemed very positive about the company, then in all likelihood you were reading or hearing a press release generated by the company itself. Of course, press releases don’t have to be positive, they are also used for things like product recalls, to announce unsafe ingredients, new study results on medications once thought helpful and so on. Regardless, when a company wants to release information to the press, they either use an internal source (usually in a public relations department) or they hire a professional writer to do it for them. The reason for this is that a press release needs to elicit a tone that is a cross between a journal piece and a product information piece without crossing the boundaries into a sales advert (or a big negative for a company in the case of not so positive news).
Press releases offer both the consumer (the reader or listener) and the releasing company benefits. For the consumer, a press release allows them to know about a change in the services they are receiving, if something new or better has come along for a product or service they are using or if they need to be concerned about a product that they are using in their home (or in their lives). In addition, a press release can ensure that important information is quickly disseminated among consumers. A good example of this is when Toyota learned that there were issues with many of their car models. A press release ensured that the information was announced by every major news station and newspaper; as well as the smaller outlets as well. Although Toyota car owners also received the information in the mail, the press releases ensured that they got the information as soon as it was learned that there was a problem.
Many companies, especially smaller companies, feel that they can’t afford to hire a professional to write their press releases; however, there are reasonable rates to be found. No, you aren’t going to get it done for free, but you don’t have to spend thousands of dollars either. It is important to shop around and compare prices and services. Also, if you don’t know how to distribute a press release once it has been written, choose a full service company so that you can get everything done in one place.
