First order of business today is to announce the winner of Friday’s “Give Us Your Most Creative Caption” contest. Drum roll please … and the winner is Cody Watkins with:
“Starrrrscream!! where’s my morning mojo!”
Congratulations, Cody and thanks for participating! Be sure to stay tuned for future contests.
10 Press Release Alternatives
Moving on, it’s now time to talk about the press release. According to Wikipedia, the first modern press release was by a gentleman by the name of Ivy Lee:
Lee’s agency was working with the Pennsylvania Railroad at the time of the 1906 Atlantic City train wreck. Ivy Lee and the company collaborated to issue the first press release directly to journalists, before other versions of the story, or suppositions, could be spread among them and reported. He used a press release, in addition to inviting journalists and photographers to the scene and providing their transportation there, as a means of fostering open communication with the media.
As demonstrated in the above excerpt, the press release has been around for some time. Over the past decade, the press release has proved that it can, in fact, evolve with the age of the Internet. At the same time, it seems the press release has fallen into a bit of a “slump” when it comes to catching up with the world of social media and targeting media with a variety of useful tools, helping them to tell the story.
We’re happy to report, Ivy Lee, that your press release, while loved, is experiencing a “face lift.”
Heather Whaling shares with us on Social Media Today her 10 alternatives to the traditional press release:
- Social Media Release
- Blogger Briefing
- YouTube Video
- Internet Broadcast
- Blog Post
- Twitter “Chat” Tour
- Virtual Scavenger Hunt
- Enewsletter Announcement
- Send a tweet.
- Your turn … what other ideas would you suggest to share news?
Click here for the full top 10 list, as well as brief descriptions, links, etc. from Heather.
What other ideas do you have when it comes to giving the press release a “face lift”?