9 Newswire Questions to ask Before Choosing Press Release Distribution Services

Distributing press releases provide several benefits. You can reach reporters directly who are most likely to cover your story, achieve broad exposure for your brand, get more sales, and more.

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There are many newswire service options to choose from. Each one varies, depending on their offer, packages, and how they will assist you in achieving your goals. When it comes to distributing releases, using a press release service is one convenient way to get your news in front of your target audience.

Question #1: Does the service have a media outlet network that matches my business?

Who are the reporters who are most likely to cover your story? Identify reporters who belong to your niche.

You must ensure that you choose a service that will reach your target reporters. You need to have enough information first on each service before making the buying decision and comparing.

Distribution services work by sending your news to their media network with which they have strong relationships. Ask yourself, “Can their media network help my business reach my goals and promote my message?”

Making a rush decision may lead you to miss the mark instead of seeing the elements that would help you pick the service that would help you reach your goals. Once you have gathered the information, weigh each feature, cost, and benefit you’ll get.

Consider the type of press you want to reach. For example, if you’re going to achieve possible buyers, you may target an online distribution service. On the other hand, if you’re going to get the media, you should go online and in newsrooms.

Question # 2: What is the desired outcome of my campaign?

Go back to your goals. What does your business want to reach at the end of your communications campaign? This question is answered based on what you want to achieve.

Do you want to:

Build brand engagement: Does the service support sharing on social media platforms? There should be social media sharing tools that will encourage audiences to share it on various channels. You may look for a newswire service that allows brands to engage with their audience through curated, industry-specific social media feeds.

Search visibility: You should go with a distribution company with high search engine authority to ensure that your target audience will see your content. Research shows that 85 percent of customers research before making a purchase decision.

To earn media pickup: Do you want to gain placements of your story in the newspapers, magazines, television, or radio? Studies have proven that third-party publicity validates your account.

Choose a content distribution service with a long history and experience with the press. They should provide direct delivery of your news to the editorial systems of significant publications. Based on Nielsen’s study, consumers trust earned media better than paid and owned media.

To boost conversion: One of your goals may be to acquire new audiences. It’s not enough that you have new content syndicated in different channels. Without developing new customers, it is useless. Choose a service with a network and content tools that would help expose your content to a large audience.

To boost online visibility: Pick a distribution company that helps your brand to reach significant sites to gain placement of your story. Your account gets better reads and shares if connected with major news sites like Business Journals, MarketWatch, and Yahoo!

Question # 3: Who is my planned audience?

Plan your demographic, industry-specific, and geographical goals. Who is the audience you want to target? If you can’t identify them, how could your content be effective?

Local, regional, or national market: Do you want to reach the local or the bigger audience? Choose a service that provides the audience you want to go to.

Industry-specific audience: Are you targeting a niche industry? Make sure that you connect with a service that covers industry-specific markets.

Culture and demographics: Choose a service that targets audiences by religion, lifestyle, gender, age, and ethnicity.

International: If you’re considering an international audience, choose a local language distribution service. Consider a professional translation feature that will translate the language of your content to your target audience. Make sure that they collaborate with media experts in other countries to increase the chance of coverage overseas.

Multicultural market: If you want to diversify, you may opt for a service that offers ethnic audiences like African Americans, North American Chinese, Native Americans, and Hispanic.

Question # 4: Does the service supports social media promotion?

You need to check a service that allows you to share your content on social media. Remember that social media is a potent tool to connect a brand to its audience.

Check a service that allows social media sharing to increase the exposure of your content. Your content tends to go viral if it is shared on social media. Check a service that provides social sharing tools that will allow you to connect with the media and other audiences.

Question # 5: Does the service offer tracking tools?

It’s essential that you could track the results of your content campaign. You can’t go on launching campaigns without knowing if it’s working or not.

Remember that distribution services can quickly earn the trust of their clients if they can update them with their campaign results. Giving clients updates on their releases is essential to ensure they understand their return on investment (ROI) and how they can improve their next campaign.

Reporting is critical to help you measure the success of your promotion and distribution efforts. Make sure that they offer analytics as part of the package.

Question # 6: Do they have package options that answer my business needs?

Every press release distribution has a goal. You need to check the service that can help you reach your goal.

Check their features. There’s no point in connecting with a service that can’t provide your needs. Check the package and pricing options available in service.

Does it fit your capacity and needs? Choose a distribution company that offers various options to fit every budget and marketing needs.

For instance, if you are just a startup, you want to ensure you don’t spend a lot in distributing releases without getting a good ROI. Every investment is crucial. Choose a service that can maximize what you can pay.

Question # 7: Does the service offer writing services?

Not all companies or brands can write their releases. Some brands don’t have a content team, are not experts yet in writing releases, or don’t have enough time to issue waivers.

If this is the case, you need to choose a service that offers writing services. Again, each newswire service offers different packages, including writing services. Choose a service that offers affordable but quality writing service.

Check their previous work before making a decision. Get samples of their work. Does their work result in placements in the newspaper or magazines?

Question # 8: What features are essential to my business?

Consider your needs. It would be best if you considered what a distribution service offers. Do they offer it?

Multimedia: Can you embed images and videos in your releases? Do they syndicate multimedia content like audio clips, infographics, videos, and pictures? Here are significant features that you need to consider:

Customizable, interactive content: Your content should be an HTML file ready to ensure that the search engines efficiently crawl it. Does it have bullet points, highlights, subheadlines, anchor text, and bolding to offer exciting content?

Additional services: You may want to consider a service that offers other services, including video production, strategic media placement,  media monitoring, targeting platforms, media, IR websites, and international distribution.

Question # 9: What is the level of my service expectations?

You need to consider some points that are important in your campaign, such as the level of your expectation when it comes to the following:

User experience: Does the service provides a fast and easy submission process of releases? Do they offer secure online portals and account management tools to streamline the submission process? Do they require you to register or not?

Professional editorial assistance: Check the expertise and experience of their content team. Are they going to help you improve your releases? Ask questions, including:

• What is the turnaround time for the releases?
• Do they proofread it?
• Do they assess the content based on standard guidelines of journalism?
• Do they offer recommendations on best practices and search engine optimization?
• Do they provide feedback and content analysis?

Hours available: You may need to consider what time they operate. Do they assist you outside their office hours in case required? If you are facing a crisis, can they help you during those times? You may want to check if they have a staff ready to answer inquiries and offer help 24 x 7.

When making a decision, make sure that you have a clear goal. Always have a plan set in your mind and what your desired result should be. Setting up your dreams from the start helps assess your campaign and distribution.

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