*This post is part of Bailey Gardiner’s Public Relations Tactics series, which highlights tools and best practices to ensure a successful public relations campaign. The series will run weekly.

There’s been some, okay a lot of, debate about whether or not the press release is going out of style; some say they’re archaic and everyone knows they definitely don’t mesh well with the world of social media. Yet, public relations agencies and marketing people all over the world are still writing them, whether or not they fit into a 160 character mold. When written well, they are an effective way of distributing information and can aid journalists in writing their story.

Here are four tips for writing an effective press release:

• Organize by importance: A press release is meant to distribute information; so, the most important information needs to be easily accessible. Over flowery language or convoluted sentences negate the true value of a press release. Make sure the primary information is easy to understand and easy to find.

• Incorporate SEO: Today press releases are popping up in more places online than ever before and attention to keywords should reflect this. If you’ve already established key words for your brand, a blog, or website, maintain those in press releases as well. Plus, if a release lands on sites that are already high-ranking, it could be extremely easy to find.

• Format Appropriately: Format the release to appropriately reflect its subject matter. If the release is about an event, have a bolded “who, what, when, where” section. This makes it easy for journalists to find and use the information.

• Add a pitch (outside of the wires): While releases provide all the necessary information, a pitch is the place to provide a potential story angle, reference something else the reporter covered, or add anything additional to the provided information. Just sending a release, without a pitch, can seem cold and lacks personalization.