Evolution of Press Releases in the world of Public Relations

Press Releases—one of the mighty tools that Public Relations (PR) professionals, businesses, and journalists rely on. Press releases are basically the brief reports released in media for dissemination of information among the masses about an important event. PR companies in Delhi send press releases to media professionals in order to convey key publics the important events that took place within an organization. Amongst many other PR communication methods, which includes pitch letters & media advisories, a press release written in 500 words approximately containing all necessary information is preferred by the journalists.

A standard press release format is followed by PR agencies in Delhi while writing that not only is effective in message communication but also forms a positive impression of the brand. According to PR consultants in Delhi, an ideal press release has a headline, dateline, introduction, body paragraphs, boilerplate, closing mark (—30— or ### or “Ends”), and contact information of a PR or media person.

Ever since the profession of PR was invented during the beginning of the 20th century, press releases are written in different styles in different parts of the nation. But, the Internet brought some of the major evolutions in writing and distributing a press release. The news cycle is more fast-paced and thus, the writing style and format have necessarily evolved in all these years. While traditional press releases focused more on the refinement of language, vocabulary, and expression, the modern press releases are written in a simple language using layman terms to make it more readable and print-ready. PR professionals in Delhi produce more article type press release which talks more than just facts and figures. Journalists and media houses are very strict about the standards of press releases, articles and stories which are catchy and can seek attention from the wide audience through online publishing.

The traditional print press releases are now going digital with the inclusion of multimedia such as graphics & videos. These digital press releases are in proper format yet interactive due to the language, writing style, tone, and voice-supported with the adequate material such as video interview or posters. Well, a lot of arguments are done when it comes to the digital scenario of PR & the traditional. But, PR agencies still see a lot of scope in the ways PR is done where the traditional PR methods are fused with digital practices to give better visibility to the businesses and accurate information to the key publics.

5 fool-proof PR tricks to reach the media

Being a journalist, media professionals get to go through scores of media pitches mailed to them by varied PR professionals spread across the country. But despite media pitches arriving in the media professionals in great numbers, the numbers of good reliable pitches is always low. Most of what is there in the mail box are all trash for the journalists due to some silly mistakes made by the PR persons while approaching the media.

Here are some quick no-fail PR strategies for the agencies to tap on in order to hit the desired media channels on-point with the least wastage of resources:

1.      Be clear and concise with your target: While making the choice of your targets, business heads don’t need to go running everywhere for recognition instead they need to start with focusing on one or target groups, be it from audiences to approach or the media channels to hit. The idea is to just sit with your PR team, discuss your ideal needs and demands and then formulate the target choices accordingly with respect to the PR tools and budget.

2.      Go through the past records of the journalist and media channel: Past performances are a great indicator of how much impact a media coverage will make. Keep an eye on the concerned journalist’s previous articles and media coverage. This will also help you in better understanding the taste, writing style and interests of a particular media professional and the media channel he/or she is representing.

3.      Pitch a message through your story: Believe it or not, most of the times the media doesn’t get attracted to the company and its product & services but instead get connected with the message linked to it. So, when your PR agency shares PR pitches on your behalf with the media, make sure that instead of restricting the focus only on the company and its features, the story in the pitches is weaved in a manner that there is a message that instantly hooks the media as well as target audiences with the company. Once done with the pitching process, don’t forget to indulge in regular follow-ups with the journalists where the message is again shared. His further ensures that the media pitching won’t go waste and will be successful in making a healthy impact.

4.      Be respectful of the reporter’s right to accept and reject: It’s PR professional’s job to tempt the media persons with strong-armed pitches, but they can’t force a reporter to take the decision in favor of their client always. When faced with rejection instead of losing hope, it’s better to politely ask the professionals about what went wrong, mend those breaks in the pitches and then again give it a go. Try to think of broader need and interest of the readers and audiences always while shaping your story pitches.

Connect on social media: In today’s time, social media can take you places, platforms like Facebook, Linked In and most preferred Twitter gives the businesses and their hired PR agencies to connect with the concerned journalists and media channels. Once you are connected with them and are in a close touch with them on various such portals, there is a better chance of grabbing a golden media opportunity through them. But be courteous while following them and ensure that your activities on their social media accounts don’t end up looking like that of a stalker or else instead of bagging opportunities you will end up in making your business banned from certain media places.

Why are brands betting on LinkedIn for Content Marketing?

LinkedIn—one of the mighty platforms that social media companies in Delhi are betting on. The popularity of LinkedIn amongst the businesses and working professionals worldwide makes it the best platform for connecting with the seasoned experts of the industry. Widely used by B2B companies, it is now gaining a kind attention of B2C companies as well. However, selling to customers is not only a laborious task but also requires a higher level of research skills.

As over thousands of brands are bombarding LinkedIn with enormous chunks of content, users prefer only to skim through the content instead of attentively reading branded content. This, further, creates troubles for the content writers and social media marketers in Delhi to make every content piece stand out distinctively on the heap of similar content. Then why is it that brands still insist on doing content marketing on LinkedIn despite having a cut-throat competition?

Nearly every business professional C-suite executive, decision-maker, and CEO is seen busy networking with the industry people on LinkedIn. Looking at the statistics, LinkedIn had 37 million members in 2009 which significantly leapfrogged up to 467 million by 2016. Until the end of 2018, even this 467 million is expected to be tripled. Getting engagement on LinkedIn means a lot to the brands than on Facebook or Instagram because smart professionals just do not skim through it, but spend as long as 15 minutes to read a blog post to understand and absorb it well.

According to the experts offering social media services in Delhi, it takes a lot of efforts to produce single understandable, readable, and meaningful blog and marketing it a whole more. The brands whose main focus is content marketing on LinkedIn have the working professionals as their target audience. And, this target audience very much craves for the quality content which gives tips, value, industry insights, and career guidance etc. In the case of brands, if the target audience is able to identify the brand on its own increasing its online visibility, brand awareness, and salience.

Be it content marketing or social media marketing, brands, as well as social media agencies in Delhi, have to invest in brand awareness and brand-building. Though brands do not get direct business leads from LinkedIn or ROI, but they create brand awareness amongst the target audience which is not easy to do nowadays. Contrary to the popular belief, reaching the target audience is not enough if brand awareness is your goal. Getting their attention, engaging them with the brand, and leaving them with a positive impression about the brand is all that it takes—that’s not impossible without content marketing strategy specifically tailored for LinkedIn.

Things you should know before applying for PR job

Working with seasoned professionals in the world of Media and Public Relations is what every Media and Communications student aspires for. Today, every business entity wants to directly communicate with its target audiences through earned media. Earned media is the prime choice because the mediums like newspaper, magazines, news reports, and TV interviews are trusted by the common people. Unlike blogs or websites, these mediums cannot be owned by the business organizations as they only feature the stories which are in favor of the common people.

In this landscape, PR agencies in Delhi have occupied a considerable space for themselves as they bridge the gap between the businesses and earned media. The great popularity of news media and PR companies amongst the businesses has created huge requirements for PR professionals in Delhi and other metro cities in the country. And for job aspirants, the PR industry never falls short of the learning experience and growth opportunities. If you are also a job-seeker in the PR industry, you should very well know the four things before you apply to positions for PR professionals in Delhi in any PR company.

1.    PR writing test can be tough to clear.

While the job of a PR person does not necessarily include writing press releases or articles for the clients, it does require strong writing skills. In fact, most of the PR companies in Delhi made writing test one of the milestones in their process of recruitment. Interviewers may ask you to write a short pre-event or post-event release on any subject or a pitch-note. For you being a newbie, knowing how to write is intimidating. That’s why, a careful research, study, and practice in writing for PR clients is recommended.  

2.    Spoken English & Written English is a pre-requisite.

When you are working in one of the repute PR firms in Delhi, you will have to talk to clients, go for meetings, media interactions, and conferences where the English language becomes the primary and sole mode of communication. Also, knowing written English is a must for you as you will be required to send client boilerplates & pitch-notes to the journalists, update clients about the progress about the project, etc. Therefore, you should be fluent in spoken English and an expert in writing.

3.    Time runs quick and short.

That’s the eternal truth. The plates of PR companies in Delhi always remain full of clients and journalists. Time is a valuable thing for them which they cannot afford to waste—not even a minute, you know. Every PR person must learn how to write a press release in 20 minutes and how to convince the journalists about the client’s story in 5! Therefore, learn to be quicker at work and should know the tricks and techniques to save every second of a minute.

With these tips, we hope you get an idea of what skills you need to work on if you are dying to get employed in one of the best PR companies in Delhi. Wish you a good luck!

Top 3 ways through which PR Agencies help your brand reach the masses

PR agencies are known to create and generate content that duly achieves the client’s brand awareness needs. In most cases, the power of both the traditional and new media channels is being utilized to protect, enhance and build the reputation of the clients. However, this is not the only thing they do, there is much more on their services list that can do wonders for enhancing the market visibility of the client. Here are few tips to give you an inside look at how PR agencies help the businesses in attracting the attention of investors and potential customers.

Rope in the investors with promising coverage

Investors are lucrative business people. Even though they claim to be on the lookout for new and innovative technologies, their primary concern always lies on the growth aspects. They won’t deny going for products and services that would help them keep the growth curve in the right direction. With marketing and advertising demanding huge budgets, few good clippings in prominent media channels through comparatively less budgeted but creatively formulated PR strategies will undoubtedly win the likes and interest of probable investors.

Boost the brand’s networking with PR team’s assistance

Expert PR professionals from top PR agencies in Delhi-NCR and around the world have a great hold of networking links in the respective industry they deal in. By attending and sometimes even organizing industry related events and get-together parties, they help the clients tap on their links and develop relationships with people from every side of the industry. While media professionals are usually the primary focus, a wide variety of other professional links including that with the manufacturers, retailers, buyers and distributors attend are also being utilized to boost the client brand’s overall market image.

Utilize the PR professional’s knowledge and expertise to stay innovative

Experienced PR specialists with creative insights can work wonders for the growth of the business as they have faced and strong in the best and the worst phases of the industry. Their presence can bring deep industry insight on the desk which will help in better formulating the plans for the brand’s growth and expansion.  The specialized PR professionals consider open and honest conversations with the managerial levels of the client’s business before starting up with their awareness and promotion strategies. The seasoned PR persons are communicating with industry leaders on a daily basis and thus, stay familiar with ongoing reports and trends.