The "Social Media Press Release" Debuts - Download the Template Today!
Today we debuted the first-ever template of the "Social Media Press Release."
This newfangled press release format has been baking since late February, thanks to the rantings of Tom Foremski at Silicon Valley Watcher. You can get the template in PDF form here, or at our website.
The template is 100% open to the PR/marketing community. No copyright baloney. We hope it can serve as a helpful guide to kickstart thinking about how we can evolve the PR sector. Maybe it can serve as a talking points memo to show to clients, to convince them to give it a try? Maybe you hate it? Maybe you've got some ideas on how to improve it? Let me know.
Love it or hate it, what is important is that the banal, unhelpful, cookie-cutter press releases of yore have outlived their pre-Internet usefulness. So, to announce the "Social Media Press Release template" (and to show how it might look in the real world) we also put out what may be the first ever press release to use this next-generation format, via PR Newswire.
As noted last week, Edelman has their own plans in this vein (also inspired by Foremski). We look forward to seeing how their version differs from our template. No doubt that with Edelman's deeper pockets, it will at least have more multimedia components.
For now, we're not so much hoping to impress, as to help. "Victory" will be achieved if our peers in the PR sphere start to download the PDF and tack it to their walls for future reference. As this concept evolves, it will be tracked at a purpose-built del.icio.us site. Please pay a visit, or subscribe to the del.icio.us RSS feed for the "Social Media Press Release."
UPDATE: Some kind words so far, from the PR blogosphere (thanks)! If you can, please do take a moment to look at the del.icio.us site ... not just to keep tabs on the concept but, more importantly, in order to spur some thought about how a similar strategy might work for your own clients' PR efforts.
Meanwhile, if you want to see how the first official Social Media Press Release looks in practice, click this link to the PR Newswire version.
Tags: social+media+news+release, shift+communications, todd+defren
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Comments
Greetings from South America!! I'm a chilean senior communication advisor at a company named CRISIS ICC (www.crisis.cl). From september to november I will lead a workshop at the Corporate Communications Magister Program of the Universidad del Pacífico.
Your contribution to the PR contemporary-future work is remarkable, with your New Social Media Press Release.
Salu2!!
Posted by: Juan Pablo Tapia | September 1, 2006 10:29 PM
Thanks for the Social Media Press Release'....most helpful.
Ciao!
Jill
Posted by: J Weeks | December 5, 2006 06:43 PM
Great stuff. This will be very helpful in announcing the new release of our survey software product. I was a former client of yours and you did excellent work for us (at my last company).
- Brian
Prezza Technologies
Posted by: Brian | January 12, 2007 03:36 PM
Cool!
- a professional from China
Posted by: curt | January 13, 2007 02:28 PM
My suggestions:
1.) Make the release a single html formatted page that uses Javascripted for interactive tabbed browsing.
2.) Instead of just providing an image or video, provide the media with code that can be easily placed in a blog or other social medium, making the effort of the blogger as minimal as possible.
3.) Allow a space for SEO related items like link text or preferred description, so that if your release is picked up, you can see the maximum benefit.
Posted by: Mtb167 | February 23, 2007 01:07 PM
Thank you for this template. Major time saver.
James
http://www.managemyadvertising.com
Posted by: James | March 11, 2007 01:32 PM
Hi,
I've referenced your template on my own blog with great interest. The only question is...what do you do if you're not an html programmer? Technically speaking, how can most PR professionals produce such releases on their own?
Posted by: Mark Buzan | May 6, 2007 09:34 PM
Todd: Thank you for your contribution to the industry. I am currently writing a book called Now is Gone, and I'd love to include the template with full accolades to you. Let's chat.
GL
Posted by: Geoff Livingston | May 12, 2007 07:22 PM