{"id":6649,"date":"2019-05-17T08:00:48","date_gmt":"2019-05-17T12:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newswire.com\/blog\/?p=6649"},"modified":"2019-05-01T12:32:27","modified_gmt":"2019-05-01T16:32:27","slug":"why-your-press-release-sucks-3-overdone-topics-you-should-avoid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newswire.com\/blog\/why-your-press-release-sucks-3-overdone-topics-you-should-avoid","title":{"rendered":"Why Your Press Release Sucks: 3 Overdone Topics You Should Avoid"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Let’s be honest, the mention of a press release doesn\u2019t exactly evoke feelings of excitement or curiosity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actually, it\u2019s pretty much the opposite. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The vast majority of press release topics are bland, mundane corporate announcements. In other words, stuff that’s tough to chew through unless you\u2019re directly involved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s an ocean out there of lackluster content. If you\u2019ve seen enough press releases, you\u2019ll start noticing some trends. Some include vague headlines coupled with an uninteresting stories, drab corporate mumbo-jumbo, or someone wants to tell the world he launched a new kickstarter campaign. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The good news? Not every release has to be this way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are media-savvy companies who appreciate the value a well-executed press release can bring. First, they identify a story that\u2019s actually <\/em>newsworthy, then frame it with a unique and interesting angle. In addition, they recognize that a thought-provoking approach will entice their readers to engage with the story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let’s get started: here are three overdone topics you should avoid when putting out a press release: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Announcing Company Mergers\/Acquisitions<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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I\u2019m sure friends and colleagues will celebrate the news\u2014but unless your business is amongst the Fortune 500, your average readers and most journalists probably aren’t interested. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mergers that draw attention typically involve businesses that are either A.) disruptors in their industry (ie: Dropbox), or B.) are gargantuan in scale (ie: Sprint & T-Mobile). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Example of a newsworthy merger<\/em>: <\/h5>\n\n\n\n
In 2019, Disney acquired 21st Century Fox in a deal valued at a mind-boggling $71.3 billion dollars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Aside from the staggering amounts of money involved, there was great public interest in the fact that Disney now commands an even greater share of intellectual properties (X-Men, Deadpool & The Simpsons, to name a few)<\/em>. Disney\u2019s acquisition of Fox meant adding to its already rich trove of characters and original titles, which only served to boost the hype of its much-anticipated streaming service, Disney+. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A lot of the pieces in this story affect regular people on a day-to-day basis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I mean. who hasn\u2019t streamed something <\/em>recently? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It doesn\u2019t take a PR professional to see that there are interesting angles in just about every aspect of the story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Announcing a New CEO\/Executive <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Chances are, your new CEO isn\u2019t going to be Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk. So, why would <\/em>anyone care? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The answer is they probably don\u2019t. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luckily, there are angles you can take to make announcements like these seem more interesting than they actually are, like if your incoming executives are social media influencers, or billionaires. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But if your new team members are just your typical industry professionals whose only online presence is their LinkedIn, your news is probably going to fly under the radar for most people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Example of a newsworthy CEO appointment<\/em>: <\/h5>\n\n\n\n
In April of 2019, Best Buy announced it\u2019s new CEO Corie Barry. While the name might not be familiar to the average person, Barry is one of 26 women CEOs at S&P 500 companies; those women represent a mere 5.2% of all S&P 500 CEOs. At 44, she will be the company\u2019s 5th CEO and first female chief executive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s pretty easy to see that there are many facets to this story that generate public interest: she\u2019s the company\u2019s first female chief executive, on top of the fact that she\u2019s 1 of 26 other female CEOs in what is largely an all-boys club. She\u2019s also taking on the job at 44, which is fairly young by comparison when the median age where men and women are appointed to CEO is around 55. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Funding Announcement<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Announcements like these NEED a unique hook to generate public interest. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For starters, it better be an extremely high profile startup raising an ungodly amount of money. Maybe even your company is fortunate to have some star power support in the form of famous customers or investors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beyond that, what about the funding is really newsworthy? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ask yourself: why should anyone that isn\u2019t you or your investors care?<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let’s be honest\u2014simply having a Kickstarter campaign going isn\u2019t going to be enough to interest anyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Example of a newsworthy funding announcement<\/em>: <\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Back in 2009, AirBnB (a relatively unknown startup at the time) was going through a bit of a rough patch. The founders raised only $20,000 in its first round of funding, and were only earning around $200 a week. At one point they even resorted to selling cereal just to keep the company afloat. Not until the founders re-strategized & shifted the focus did they make name for themselves and start to gain some traction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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