By BloggerKhan

My profession is Management and Marketing and it revolves around outsourcing, ecommerce and marketing on the internet. Wise men say identify what you are passionate about and then see if ...

A press release is a short article written in a factual way, avoiding sales or advertising language. Its purpose is to provide journalists and consumers with an overview about something interesting and newsworthy about your product, company or organization. They may cover a variety of different topics. Press releases can be an important component of your online marketing mix, reaching multiple audiences and driving SEO results. In order to get optimal results, you need to make a strategy to use press releases to their full potential.

So, how can you measure the effectiveness of your press releases? Here are a few tips:

1. Why you are writing press releases?

Keep your goal in mind. Why are you writing press releases? Is your goal raising brand awareness or driving traffic to your website? What does your company want to gain from press releases? This is an important step and you need to plan your strategy carefully. Clearly defining the company’s goals will help you reap the benefits later.

2. Track key metrics

Once you have defined your goal(s), think about how you will get to that goal(s)? There are so many metrics you could follow and it is easy to lose track of the right ones. Why don’t you start by seeing how many people read your press release? Unlike impressions, reads will tell you how many people actually read your press release and from there you will know how effective your writing is and how it resonates with readers. Next, how many times was your press release shared on social media? Who shared it? Do people talk about your brand on social media? If so, who? Find those influencers and connect with them. Ultimately, what may be the most important metric is whether your release generates press coverage. Tracking the publications that share your news will help you know what audience you are reaching. Applying measurement to your online marketing should not be something you do only once. Instead, monitor metrics across several press releases to determine which content you produce receives the most reads, visits and media engagement. With this knowledge, you can create the most effective press release content in the future.

3. Analyze the above metrics

Analyze the above mentioned metrics and use that insight to improve your future press releases. Change your press release strategy accordingly. If a particular topic resonates with the audience more than others, write more press releases on that topic.

Without measuring the value and effectiveness of your press releases you will not know the effect they have on your business. Keep in mind that press releases are inexpensive to prepare and distribute. It is a means of getting news coverage without using paid advertising. Plus, with the help of the internet, they will not only reach local news and readers, but will be distributed globally.

To sum up, the benefits of sending out press releases include its low cost, visibility and credibility for your company, new customers, potential investors and free publicity. When the media or bloggers write about your press release, the free publicity generated provides added credibility and value to your company or organization.

How to write a press release