Why The 'Web Release' Has Replaced The Press Release

Whether you are an established Fortune 500 company or a tech startup, the press release seems like the go-to method of gaining attention from the press. In 2018, nobody really cares about traditional press releases, which is why hip new companies pour their marketing budgets into "Web Releases"

Nobody Reads Press Releases

Let's be real about where press releases really go. PRNewsWire and other outlets will recycle the same content through their network of websites, along with thousands of other releases that same day. Nobody, not even modern-day journalists, are thumbing through these releases looking for a riveting new story.

Google Is Over Them

PRNewswire and the like are not even ranking well anymore. Google now prefers to put a Medium.com post (even something from Steemit!) in the #1 spot. This is likely due to the obvious paid backlink scheme that press release outlets use.

As this Quora user thoroughly pointed out, PR sites have plummeted in traffic due to Google algorithm changes. Why put your press release in one of these bad neighborhoods!?

User Engagement

Online press releases are basically walls of text with a frigid Call-to-action at the bottom. On most sites, user engagement isn't even incited and usually not even allowed.

Publishing through Medium, BuzzFeed (yeah I'm brown-nosing), Reddit, or even Tumblr encourages users to ask questions, leave their criticism and share your post with other community members. A company that seems like "one of us" goes a long way with the anti-corporate Millenial.

You Have The Freedom To Create

Publishing through a Press Release service or traditional news media may include a style guide to be strictly adhered to. That is definitely not the case with blogging & social media.

This sort of freedom allows you be interesting, creative, spunky, and even use non-professional language. Of course, following the sites' rules (like no racism) is still required.

Conclusion

I think it is time to ditch traditional media outlets as future generations will only be more Internet-connected than ever before. Just like Television, and then the Internet, has obliterated the printed newspaper, the Web Release will triumph over the Press Release.