I have a lot I want to say about the much hyped social media release, but haven’t really been able to give that post the time it warrants. I think the social media release is a good first step toward PR embracing the Web evolution (granted, belatedly), but I don’t believe the existing template will replace our standard, 100 year old release (more on that later …).
That said, there are several attributes of the social media release that are appealing to me. There’s no excuse to put out a release today without considering SEO. Beyond that, social media releases include tags that help optimize the release for new channels – namely the blogosphere – which opens up new audiences. I like that.
But here’s what I think will be the SMR’s biggest hurdle: cost. Now that I’m on the corporate side, I need to watch my budget very closely. I wanted to incorporate some of the social media aspects into our releases, so I started pricing how much it would cost to turn a typical press release into a social media release. A few key findings:
1. Following Shift’s suggested format, the release actually gets longer with more quotes, which in turn, put me way over on the word count. Add about $350. That hurts a bit.
2. Not sure how to go about incorporating SEO into your release? All the major wire services can help, for about $100 to $300 each time, plus a one-time fee. Ouch.
3. Including a simple screenshot or executive photo is painless. In fact, embedding any type of smart media is easy. Add $250 to 450 for the first file, and about $200 for each additional file. Double ouch.
I think there are a lot of benefits to incorporating social media technologies into releases to help extend their reach. But the challenge I’m facing now is that apparently, something simple like just adding tags to the release comes with a price, and I’m not convinced it’s worth it. Initially, there were several free distribution services that targeted bloggers, but many now charge or simply don’t have the reach of the major wires. I’m hoping the major distribution players will soon realize they can make money by providing consulting services (like charging for help optimizing releases, which is truly a value add). I just don’t think mass adoption will take place at these prices. At least, they turned me off pretty quickly.
You’re right, it is too danged expensive. It’s one of my biggest complaints for the traditional wire services.
You might try this: http://snipurl.com/1c72a
Thanks for the pointer, Todd. I’ll check it out. I’m also trying to compare the reach/value of PRWeb. Hopefully at some point the pricing won’t be prohibitive and more companies and begin experimenting — and that’s really when we’ll start to see this take off!
~kari
Good thoughts. Todd and I spoke on this very subject yesterday at the New Comm Forum in Las Vegas.
My argument is that there are multiple flavors of a press release, traditional, new media, and social media. No one tool reaches everyone, nor should it. Why limit the opportunity for distributing important information?
Wire services are expensive, and if you look at the very root of an SMR, I suggest that it has no place on a wire – it goes against the the very premise of social media.
On the other hand, if you write a good release (almost as if it was the story you’d want to read in the press) with new media elements, such as integrated resource links, video, images, etc. (and lite social elements such as del.icio.us and Digg), the release would most likely cost no more than what you do today – and – it would have more success with journalists and readers in general.
Maybe I have a different vision for a social media release, but I don’t see it ever targeting journalists per se, and I absolutely don’t believe it belongs on the wire.
Wires offer SEO advantages to press releases that enable them to also reach users through search marketing in addition to journalists. I believe that SMRs can also reach people directly, but through different channels.
If you created a dedicated blog-like platform, for example, and distribute your information in a genuine and hype-free way, that distribution channel, by default, is already socially-enabled. It is a recognized mechanism for socializing information simply by the way it is constructed with integrated comments, RSS feeds, social bookmarking, trackbacks, tags, etc. It shouldn’t look like a press release. But it should provide what’s new in a conversational, informative and resourceful format.
This does require an entirely new approach, but unlike traditional releases, if written the right way, it can engage readers in a way never before possible through wire services or through traditional press releases.
Here’s a bit more on the subject:
http://www.briansolis.com/2007/02/dont-kill-press-release-shoot-messenger.html
[...] the actual release, I do think this is good news for the PR world (assuming they aren’t charging an arm and a leg for it). I’m particularly interested in the assortment of tagging and tracking capabilities. But, as [...]