Public Relations Tools: The Benefits of a PR News Wire
When is it Time to Use a PR News Wire?
If you are in the business of Public Relations, you know that time is money, and there are certain tools that can help you stay efficient. One of these tools is a PR news wire, which allows professional communicators (that’s us) to distribute information to the media and public. It’s a win-win situation. We cut hours spent grueling over e-mail distribution, while also maximizing exposure for the client. Whether you are launching a new product, or have a media alert that needs sharing, a PR news wire service can help you do it all in less than one day’s work—now that sounds like music to my multi-tasking ears.
So, how do you sell your client on it? The first step is to open up the conversation. Update your client on the benefits of a PR news wire service, but let’s keep it short and sweet. The three major reasons for your client to utilize a PR news wire service are as follows:
• Increase company visibility on major online websites like Yahoo!, Fortune, Forbes and we all know the rest.
• To allow reporters to easily find your clients newsworthy information.
• To improve your SEO (that’s search engine optimization for those who were wondering). Distributing your news online helps tremendously when promoting a company website and/or blog through strategic use of hyperlinks and keyword tactics you are able to boost your rankings within the search engines.
Now that we’ve discussed perks with the client, it’s time to talk money.
There are a ton of great news wire companies out there that essentially do the same thing, so do your research and figure out which one best suits your respective client’s needs and budget. Lastly, present a list of upcoming projects which would benefit from the news wire within the next year—set a realistic value to the service and let your client know how they will specifically reap the benefits. Whether we like it or not, the PR news wire is an important aspect in how we are delivering news for our clients and should be evaluated as a tool for most PR campaigns.
I totally agree, but it’s hard to find a PR newswire that’s willing to help out with pro-bono work… I’m doing some PR for an Afghanistan/Iran memorial monument in southern California that has a low budget and are looking for more donors (they just broke ground and wanted to send out a release) but the cost is too high for me to pay for them, and too high for them to get the money together for… any suggestions to newswires that are lenient on Nonprofits?
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Thanks for your comment Samantha. I agree that most PR newswire services can get a bit pricey, especially when doing pro-bono or low budget work. What I would suggest is to research some free distribution services (they do exist). They probably have less to work with, but it might be worth a shot. Another idea is to see if you can do a free trial for any of the larger newswire companies. I know that most of them offer this as an option to get used to the product. I hope this helps, and thanks again for your input. I appreciate it!