Are Press Releases Dead?
In recent years, crypto companies have used many tools to advertise and promote their crypto, Web3, and NFT projects. Press releases have mainly been a reliable and popular way for most crypto projects to get their message to the media. After all, that has been a primary tool in public relations for a long time. According to The Museum of Public Relations, press releases have been used for more than 112 years.
However, as we continue exploring the vast waters of this digital age, crypto and NFT companies have been re-examining their marketing strategies. We are in the social media age, and social media channels have quickly become indispensable tools for small and big enterprises. That’s the same reason why businesses have started to feel like press releases are an outdated industry relic. So, will press releases still have a place in this digital age of social media or are they dead? Well, there’s only one way to find out. This article will offer insight into the importance of a press release for your crypto company and some best practices to improve your press release strategy. But before that, let’s look at some critical problems in press releases that make people think it has become an ineffective marketing strategy.
Key Problems with Your Press Releases
Writing a press release is an art that shouldn’t be taken for granted. Press releases require careful planning and writing down to the last nuance. Unfortunately, most crypto, Web3, and NFT companies don’t have the time to do this correctly. There are so many dos and don’ts of press releases that it can sometimes prove impossible to write this art piece to perfection. More importantly, press releases are not a simple set-and-forget marketing tactic. That’s why in this section, we’ll look at some critical problems with press releases today.
1. Overusing Certain Quotes in Your Press Release
Quotes are almost always used in press releases. However, on several occasions, some business owners and marketing teams tend to overuse them. An excellent quote is simply a sound bite that media organizations can use to echo your story. In fact, a quote shouldn’t be more than a single sentence. On top of that, you shouldn’t have more than one quote. Therefore, if half of your press release is simply a quote, you are doing it wrong. No law says you should always have a quote in all your press releases. So, take a moment to consider the quotes you’d like to be associated with your brand. An excellent way is to check out various media organizations and their quotes. That will give you a picture of what you should aim for and the voice you want for your brand.
2. Your Press Release is Boring
Let’s face it! We don’t always have brilliant ideas all the time when writing our press releases. Therefore, at some point, you are bound to have a boring PR in your marketing strategy. A press release is supposed to be exciting and informative. Something that will pique the interest of your audience and keep them glued to it. But at the same time, your press release shouldn’t sound like you are trying to sell something. Unfortunately, on Web3 and crypto, your press release could sound too mundane if you don’t frame it right. People want to see something new, revolutionary, and exciting. Here are some ideas you can implement to improve your PR game; Explain those numbers and statistics: Don’t just add stats and numbers into your content without explaining what they mean! You can easily compare your statistics to past performance.
But always explain your stats in the simplest way possible for your audience to better understand what you are trying to present to them. Make the facts enjoyable: Adding an infographic instead of a fact sheet could help your audience enjoy reading your content and better understand the facts. Add pictures and videos: Merging written content with videos and photos is a great way to keep your users attention. That will boost your conversion and also your relationship with your audience. Sound human: When writing your press release, pitch a human-interest angle. That’s why most media houses like reporting feel-good stories and how specific businesses help the local community. Implement the same technique in your press release.
3. Your Timing is Always Off
The general idea of a press release is to announce something newsworthy to your audience and other media houses. As such, your timing should be near-perfect. Additionally, it would help if you spaced your announcements on the PR page. Leave about ten days for the media to catch up on the story and report, so they have a timely report on what’s happening in your company. The press release should trigger a response in time or whatever you are about to announce. Unfortunately, if you are too late, the news is no longer worthy and may fail to impact your audience engagement. Always plan your press releases and ensure you write them ahead of time to avoid that last-minute rush. It might take some time to make your content live, so the sooner you are done with it, the better.
4. Lengthy Press Releases
The media and your audience will likely search for a story worth writing about or publishing. In most cases, they do not need something really long that could potentially take a lot of their time to read through. Instead, something that short, hitting all the right points, will likely gather more engagement than its alternative. Your press release should be the right size to find that ‘sweet spot’ where you have explained enough to your audience, especially those unfamiliar with your company. That will prompt them to learn more about your company, so adding a link or contact information to your press release is crucial. The standard size is around 550 to 770 words press release. More importantly, don’t forget to break down your work into small readable chunks that are easy to read.
Why the Press Can Still Make a Big Impact on Your Crypto and NFT Promotion
1.Press Releases Boost Your Projects Credibility and Raise Brand Awareness
With so many crypto scams hitting the mainstream market over the last couple of years, every crypto company wants to be credible. Luckily, a crypto press release is an easy and quick way to build your credibility in the market. That’s because customers view press releases as a trusted and reliable source of information. That means if your crypto business distributes accurate press releases consistently, you will build credibility with the media and target audience. Especially for your crypto start-up, a press release will help get the positive word about your project out there. At the same time, it will help to get your project name to the public forum. This is a helpful way to create brand awareness. And since you write your press release in-house or hire a PR agency to write it for you, you can control your brand’s message and voice to shape how the public perceives your project.
2. A Press Release Helps You Engage the Media
In this digital age, when you issue a press release for your crypto project, it will be available to journalists and the public via social media channels. Distributing your press release via social media channels will open you to a broader audience. While this seems exciting, learning how to market your press release via social media channels is still essential. Your best bet for this would be to work with a PR agency. They can advise you on the best marketing strategy to segment your audience and personalize your PR message.
3. Increases Your Public Relations Activity
A press release gives you a chance to connect with multiple media outlets. That means if you release your press release on time, it can also be picked up by other media outlets interested in knowing more about your crypto or NFT project. This is beneficial to you as it creates more publicity for your company. But for this to happen, it all comes down to how engaging and informative your press release is. If your press release doesn’t offer engaging information, no media outlet wants to give its audience something that’s not newsworthy.
4. Press Releases Promote Transparency of Your Crypto and NFT Project
Do you have a crisis you need to manage? Well, distributing a press release will always be one of the best ways to promote transparency for your business. After all, the core of a press release is crisis communication. It allows you to tell your story first before the public picks up all the wrong information from unreliable sources. So, if there have been rumors of your crypto project being a scam, you can use a press release to stop such speculations. Use the press release to communicate facts about your crypto or NFT project transparently. People will see that as a central and reliable source of information.
Don’t Ditch the Press Release Just Yet!
As we can see from this article, press releases still have a crucial role in the crypto, NFT, and Web3 advertising landscape. While it doesn’t take the place of digital marketing, it’s still an irreplaceable marketing strategy. In fact, if you want to take your crypto project to the next level and achieve maximum benefits, you can use the press release alongside digital marketing strategies.
