Should You Start Issuing Social Media Releases?

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  1

  krisnodoubt@...

  02/29/08 | Report as spam

  Nothing but a cheap PR stunt by SHIFT

  I have never had a reporter, blogger, or Facebook user request one of these. It's a cheap PR stunt concocted by SHIFT Communications. There is no demand for this, and it makes the whole profession look like the pandering bunch of blowhards we are.
  
  By the way, how can you make this self-contradictory statement with a straight face?
  
  "...press releases are still written in that old, ineffective style ? and tons of them still get picked up..."
  
  So they're ineffective, they are NOT effective... but "tons of them" still get picked up? Well which is it? Sigh... your credibility is lacking!

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  2

  jongreer

  02/29/08 | Report as spam

  Back at ya

  Re the original SMR template: i think it's a bit of stretch to call it a PR stunt. It was an attempt to fill a need. Not a great attempt, but a first attempt.
  
  There IS a need to provide media-friendly and Internet-friendly PR material in a better way than the traditional press release model. That why this is an interesting debate. I'm waiting to see a model that really works and makes sense to me.
  
  Re effective/ineffective: touche. Poor wording on my part. Should have said the current model is outdated or something. That's what I meant. And it's effective in spite of itself, not because it provides useful information in a concise and easy to use format.

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  3

  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine

  02/29/08 | Report as spam

  RE: Should You Start Issuing Social Media Releases?

  Since most people can't even write a two paragraph press release that doesn't lose the reader by sentence #2, I'm not entirely certain that complexifying the process is going to help much.

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  4

  johnsondf1

  03/01/08 | Report as spam

  Can't say that I agree...

  Generally, I really despise sending press releases. It seems like they're just this side of useless compared to a good relationship with a reporter.
  
  I think the new templates might be useful in more than just social media. For hard news, sure, a traditional release seems to work. But feature pitches, if you must put thhem in a release, would probably work best in the new style. Get the reporter a quick taste of the entire article then get them the information they need to tease out the story.

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  5

  Andrew Arnold

  02/29/08 | Report as spam

  RE: Should You Start Issuing Social Media Releases?

  I've released a couple of social media releases alongside more traditional releases and see them as a useful addition to the many ways of contacting journalists and raising awareness.

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  6

  dbldee

  03/05/08 | Report as spam

  Social press releases

  What is the purpose or differentiation of a social media press release.
  
  If there is something to be said on the social network, you say it.
  
  If there is story for a traditional press release, you issue one
  
  
  Can someone help me understand the implications

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  7

  twanless@...

  03/04/08 | Report as spam

  RE: Should You Start Issuing Social Media Releases?

  Don't get hung up on the format; look beyond it to the purpose.
  
  I've recently started offering social media releases because probably 95 per cent of traditional press releases are useless. Most people in newsrooms these days are so busy, they barely have time to read releases, let alone do the follow up work that's required to write a story based on one. And for sure, they don't want to read one that's so full of jargon it can't even figure out what its own story is.
  
  It's just more work, so the more you can do that work for them, the better chance you have of being picked up. You have to hand it to them on a plate these days
  
  So, sorry folks, it's not a cheap pr stunt, although there certainly is a little entertainment value in it. Mostly, it's a tool to make it easier for writers by providing all the information they need to produce a story.
  
  This is the opposite of "complexifying" it. It's actually simplifying your story into clear and understandable chunks that feature increasingly complex information that can be clicked on as needed.
  
  Unfortunately, many people are incapable of simplifying their story (which also includes total transparency -- links to everything that's been written about you, good or bad.)

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  8

  jongreer

  03/06/08 | Report as spam

  The difference between SMRs and regular releases

  The Social Media Release is thought to be a better way to provide usable chunks of information to online media who can then copy and paste and otherwise re-use your material. It's an alternative to a traditional release that's written in full paragraphs requiring the reader to sift through it to find the usable info.

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  9

  martinhardy

  10/09/09 | Report as spam

  RE: Should You Start Issuing Social Media Releases?

  Yes, we should be, as it can be the cheapest way to promote any of online business. A lot of social media sites are helping a lot the promoter with out any cost; No doubt in it that social media marketing is the alternative of old traditional publishing pattern. I get surprised to know, that one of canadian web hosting provider is getting around 5000 visitor through these social media releases. No doubt in that social media marketing is rocking.