Common Social Media Release Mistakes

Not surprisingly, people make many mistakes when they write and publish press releases. A press release is a more technical content form which has a rigid structure and a specific purpose. Social media releases add another element of difficulty to the process. A social media release encompasses multimedia including video, images, and other relevant links. Let’s take a look at the most common social media release mistakes so you can improve your press release campaign results.

Too Many Links
Just because you have the ability to add multimedia and links to your press release doesn’t mean you should. Many times there are just too many links. It distracts readers, pulls them away from the goals you have for your press release and in fact can cause people to stop reading your release and not take decisive action. The general rule of thumb is to use about 2-3 links per 400 words. That’s about a one page press release.

Irrelevant Links and Images
The second mistake people make is to use images and multimedia links that don’t support the goal or topic of the press release. The goal for any image is to support the press release and make it more credible and newsworthy. Yes, images and video make your release more compelling and sharable so it is a good idea to take advantage of this opportunity. However, make sure to add multimedia with great care and attention.

No Visuals
A press release with images is more likely to be shared, linked to, and to generate interest and clicks than a press release without images and visuals. If your press release distribution service supports social media press releases and visuals in your release, take advantage of this opportunity. If they don’t support it, consider finding a new press release distribution site.

Not Adding Keywords to Your URLs and Not Tagging
Your images and multimedia links provide an opportunity to make your press releases more searchable and more SEO friendly. You might actually find that your images make the first page of the search results when your release is further in. Make sure your images are tagged and when possible that your URL contains your keywords.

Other common social media press release mistakes are similar to traditional press release mistakes. They include not focusing on a newsworthy topic, not proofreading your press release, and not including your business contact information in the release. Press releases are a powerful way to grow your business. Spend time creating a press release strategy and take advantage of this marketing tactic.

Mike