How to Write a Social Media Press Release #socialmedia

The days of emailing out a PDF to a small group of journalists and hoping they will open the attachment on their blackberry – lol – and act on it are over. Writing a social media press release for customers, vendors, clients, stakeholders to pick up and deliver the news into their Facebook and Twitter and Google Plus networks is a totally different beast. Let’s tame it.

What are the Main Features of a Social Media Press Release?

• A controllable hub (Facebook, Twitter etc are under the control of those companies).
• Written in the most suitable brand voice (educational, serious, fun, corporate or entertainment)
• Strong visual branding (colours and logos, and header images)
• About statements on corporate social responsibility, company history, stories.
• Contacts such as address of press launch, and maps, email addresses, phone numbers
• Lots of rich content “social objects” ripe for dissemination on Facebook and Twitter
• Usable and easy admin and structure – ability to email in a press release and have it go live!
• Call to action widgets (sign up for email newsletters, download industry PDF, fill in survey)
• Posts containing: Coupons, offers, competitions, company statements, message from CEO, industry vision.
• Social sharing also increases SEO and SMO (search and social media optimisation).

Who Needs a Social Media Website, Corporate Blog or Social Media Press Room?

Perhaps you are a:

• Business owner wanting to integrate social media and your website, and want to know how to discuss that with a web developer or do it yourself
• A Public Relations or Marketing consultant looking to offer more social media services to clients, helping them get their content, promotions and press releases into traditional and social media.
• A student investigating additional social media tools, strategies and frameworks. Or even start to build your own “personal brand” (leadership, influence, knowledge) in your chosen industry
• A social media consultant frustrated with archaic websites and expensive web development and needing a hub to drive social media eg Facebook and Twitter spokes.

If you’d like step by step video lectures, a workbook and examples and a question and answer forum: How to use WordPress to set up a Social Media Press Room & Corporate Blog

Creating Your Social Media Website And Blog with WordPress Course

I usually use WordPress – and my online course takes you through setting up WordPress from scratch – but adapt it from the opinion/hobby/rants 😛 platform into Small Business/Corporate/Not for Profit social media press release hub. You can adapt the modules to Tumblr etc if you are more comfortable with another platform.

Below is the list of things to consider when creating a social media press release hub, writing your content, branding and social media distribution. My new social media press release online course includes:

• Set up a corporate blog on a social media press room (we’ll  use WordPress)
• Learn how  to write the press release in a “voice” suitable for social media
• Create branding (tools for creating Headers etc)
• A strong backstory About Page
• Contacts for the Press Release
• Embedding rich media for social distribution e.g. message from CEO or product education videos
• Other social content spokes to add to your social media hub.
• Embedding Facebook and Twitter status updates that can be shared and retweeted from the Press Release
• Making sure the website structure fits the customer profiles and target audiences
• Creating call to action widgets/apps for more social activity
• How to add social distribution to each article and press release
• How to import and export and manage your new business website
• SEO (search engine optimisation) and SMO (social media optimisation)

At the end of the course, you will have a business website set up that integrates social media and functions as a social media press room and corporate blog. OR the language to talk to those pesky web developers 🙂

The Social Media Press Release online course includes: 

• Lifetime access to all updates
• A workbook with exercises
• Case Studies and examples
• iphone and Android app (once Apple approves it)
• Quizzes and tests (fun ones)
• My jokes (yay!)
• A discussion forum to ask me questions.
• Resources and links to 3rd party white papers and tools

If you are interested in a course on how to write social media press releases, create a social media press room (using WordPress) and integrate social media into your website for easy distribution on Facebook and Twitter (both your own “owned channel” and your customers “earned channel”) – this course is now live.

The Social Media Press Release online course

If you’d like step by step video lectures, a workbook and examples and a question and answer forum: How to use WordPress to set up a Social Media Press Room & Corporate Blog – $99USD for blog readers ($199 normally).

Let me know if you have any questions by emailing Fiona (pa@laurelpapworth.com) or give me a call 0432684992. I also run this workshop for realz in your training room if interested. Your attendees get access to the online course afterwards to ensure they have a strong takeaway and access to help, post workshop.