Thursday, April 21, 2011
Study of News Release Effectiveness
The natural history of news releases just received an evolutionary transfusion of vitality. News releases are very effective if done properly. News releases have been repeatedly declared dead, but those prognostications are completely false and missing the point. Newswise recently completed a study of news releases and found that 93% of research news releases generated 5 or more clips (median of 22), and 77% of feature releases generated more than 7 clips (median of 13.5). 
Furthermore, in this new world of social media there are other forms of effectiveness. While the stimulation of clips in the news media may be the most desirable, it is also possible to spread news releases into social media where they are read as written by consumers.
Over and above effectiveness with the news media, the Newswise study found that news releases were reprinted verbatim on hundreds websites (median 11,500 for research and 6800 for feature).
Effectiveness with news releases depends on having two criteria—content and delivery system—working properly. If an organization tries to grab media attention when it is without news or if it has contaminated its relationship with reporters by repeatedly distributing non-news, no amount of resending, calling, badgering, or SEO is going to make hay. Furthermore, if news releases are delivered by a method without credibility with journalists, your news will not be detected because it will be packaged in a context of incredulity, probably not seen, and if seen, not read, which means it was not really delivered, but merely pushed out. All delivery systems are not equal.
Effective delivery requires smart technology; the readers should want your news; they are subscribers by choice, not by arbitrary and involuntary inclusion in a list of email addresses. Smart technology links the target audience to the information by proactive design using state-of-the-art information management, including email, website, rss, social media, etc. The readers choose the kind of information they want, how they want it delivered, and when.
Newswise delivers credible, high-quality news to more than 5000 journalists who have subscribed to the email and web system. Journalists want to receive this news, connect with it, read it, and use it. Smart delivery is based on active journalist participation, not their passive acquiescence. It is based on relationship and credibility.
While not reported in this effectiveness study, the hit counts for each news release measures the readership of the release on the Newswise site. This is another form of effectiveness, and specifically correlates with the delivery system. With the typical commercial news release delivery system, the client receives no information on readership of the release. You can see a sample “hit counts report on a client’s news releases by clicking on “Real Time Hits Counts” in the 2nd tab from the left at the top.
Newswise guarantees effectiveness, but this guarantee is based on a collaboration with our clients to provide highly credible news for our journalist subscribers. This guarantee is not based on purchased placements, which is essentially advertising. We never do that. Newswise bases its guaranteed effectiveness on a history of a proven credible relationship with the news media. If you provide a news release, Newswise will provide effectiveness. You will receive hundreds of web placements and you will receive news media clips.
Finally, if a client asks, we can help develop a news release that is more effective.
RSS